


Tales of the Fallabar Gym

by elodus19



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-04
Updated: 2015-11-04
Packaged: 2018-04-30 00:42:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 27,544
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5144006
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elodus19/pseuds/elodus19
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jack has opened his own Gym in Hoenn, as was his dream. Join him, the breeder couple, and his fossil researching boyfriend as they try to keep the place from burning down.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Fallabar Town Gym

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally posted on FF.net and I had some help with people sending me their oc challengers. what I do Have of the characters will be credited to their original creators from that site.

On a side Route near Fallabar Town lies a Pokemon gym. It is a home to many kinds of Pokemon resurrected from fossils, and thanks to the recent discovery of a nearby fossil deposit it is also a great place to study, breed and train these fossil Pokemon. It’s only been half a year since the grand opening, but a few trainers have managed to find their way to it thanks to a sign pointing the way. Today however seemed to be slow, and that did not sit well with one of the two gym leaders who was in charge today.

In the battle room behind the entrance room, a ginger haired man was laid out on the rocky terrain of the battlefield. His eyes were closed and his limbs were spread out. For all intents and purposes, he looked like weirdo passed out on the floor. From the door at the back, a small blue Tyrunt made its way over to the still form of the man. Her strides were slow and steady so as to not make a sound. Once she was near the man’s face, the Tyrunt snickered silently before taking a long lick along the man’s face.

“Agh! What the hell?!?” The ginger sat up wiping the slobber off of his face. Once he could see properly, he looked over to see the blue Tyrunt doubled over on its side laughing. “Baby Blue, what the hell?” the man asked in a harsh tone. It didn’t have any effect on little Baby Blue though, seeing as she was still laughing her ass off. With a sigh and a dirty look, the man went over and picked up his Pokemon off the floor.

He made his way towards the back of the room, going through the door that the small Pokemon had come through previously. The door led to a hallway which held five different doors. He went through the nearest one on the left. Inside was what resembled a playroom. This room was designated as the baby Pokemon room. As the man set down the Pokemon, his phone vibrated. He reached into his pocket to fetch it and his eyebrows raised as he noticed the name on the caller ID.

“Anna, to what do I owe the pleasure,” the ginger asked once he flipped the phone open.

“JACK,” The female voice exclaimed, making Jack wince and pull the phone away from his ear. “Thank Arceus, have you seen Blue anywhere?” Jack raised a brow and looked down at the Tyrunt playing with one of the balls in the playroom.

“I’m with her now actually. The little shit decided it would be a nice idea to give me a lick on the face.” He stuck his tongue out at Baby blue, who had stuck her own tongue out in response.

“You were asleep on the battle floor again, weren’t you,” Anna asked smugly. Jack had taken to falling asleep on the floor while waiting for challengers on slow days. “Well anyway,” Anna continued, “it’s a good thing you found her. I was putting the little ones to sleep before I left to get a few things from the markets when she disappeared on me.”

Jack raised a brow. “Disappeared how exactly?”

“Well, I’m not too sure,” Anna said baffled. “I left to put the baby Tortuga to sleep with Shelldon, and when I came back to the playroom, she wasn’t there.” Jack looked over at Blue and squinted his eyes at her. Blue ignored him for the most part, continuing to play with her ball.

“Not sure what to tell you,” Jack said, taking a look around the playroom. There weren’t a lot of places for the younger Pokemon to hide in, aside from the nearby closet. That however would have been too obvious. “But she’s been found, so no need to worry.”

“Thanks heavens for that,” Anna commented. “Would you mind putting her down for a nap?”

“I can manage that,” Jack said, turning his back to Blue. “You go on ahead and get what you need from the market. I’ll take Baby Blue here and put her down for a nap.” Anna gave Jack her thanks and they both hung up. Jack pocketed his cell and turned around only to find an empty room with no Baby Blue. “You little shit,” Jack muttered. With a deep sigh, he started his search beginning with the nearby closet. As he assumed, Blue had figured out that it was too obvious a hiding spot. She was a smart cookie, that’s for sure.

Jack resumed his search, looking behind certain objects, and under others. His search however turned up nothing. There was no way she could have left the room. Jack would have noticed the door opening and closing. It was then that he got an idea. “Hmm, guess she isn’t here,” Jack said out loud. “Guess I’ll just have to look somewhere else.” Jack walked over to the door, then proceeded to open and close it. He turned to look at the room as a whole.

At the opposite wall, a yellow box with a white question mark on it began to shake. Jack watched it for a moment and before too long it flopped onto one of its sides, revealing none other than Blue herself. Blue took a look around before her eyes settled on her trainer and she froze. Jack stared down at her with a serious look before he went over and picked Blue up. “So that’s how it’s gonna be huh?” He looked down at the box and noticed the bottom part had been eaten through partially. Jack sighed. Great, now he was going to have to take it away from Blue. Shame seeing as she had taken a shine to the box for some odd reason.

He would have to put it up later though. “Now let’s put you to bed,” he said as he turned to leave the room. Blue struggled in vain as she tried to escape from Jack’s hold on her. However, she was too tired to do much of anything. “See there? Too tired to put up a proper fight.” Blue settled for grumbling. Jack opened the fifth door at the end of the hall. This contained a much larger room. On one side was a large above ground pool. Currently there was a Kabutops and two Kabuto’s swimming around inside it. The Kabutops stopped and waved at Jack when he noticed the gym leader. Jack waved back as he walked over to the other end.

The other side contained a few small nest stalls that the smaller Pokemon tend to share for their naps. Jack put Blue in one of the currently empty ones. Blue had this tendency to lay on her side and kick in her sleep. It made trouble for the other Pokemon trying to sleep, especially because she was such a strong kicker. Jack made sure she laid down properly and watched as her eyes slowly closed. After he had confirmed that she was indeed asleep, Jack looked over at the Caracosta in the far stall at the end of the wall. The Caracosta was currently taking a nap on its back, a baby Tortuga was sleeping soundly on the larger Pokémon’s stomach.

Jack smiled fondly at the two of them. Shelldon had done a great job at being a father so far. Unfortunately though, his mate had died during the birth of the baby Tortuga. It wasn’t surprising really, she had come down with a fever before the final weeks of her pregnancy. They unfortunately couldn’t break it before she gave birth.

Jack shook his head of the memory. It wasn’t a fond one for anyone. Shelldon had been pretty much out of it till Tortuga’s egg finally hatched. Shelldon made a damn good father if Jack said so himself. With a final quirk of his lips, he turned and left the room waving once more at Kabutops as he passed the pool.

As Jack entered back into the front of the Gym, he caught sight of a dark skinned man walking towards him. “Ah, Richard, finally made it I see,” Jack called out.

Richard simply smiled as he walked towards Jack. “What’s up, short stack,” Richard replied, patting Jack on the head for extra emphasis. He nimbly dodged a fist aiming for his head.

“Stop calling me that,” Jack angrily yelled. “I’m only an inch shorter than your wife, ya know.”

“Yeah, but she’s also a couple inches shorter than I am,” Richard replied. Jack knew Richard was only teasing him, but it still pissed the ginger off to no end when people made comments about his height. He stood at a mere 5’8”, having stopped growing when he was a freshman in high school.

“I would so fire you if you weren’t such a good breeder.” Jack and the other Gym leader had met Richard and Anna when they were interviewing for Pokemon breeders for the gym. They were a breeder couple, and came highly recommended for the job. And boy did they show the leaders a thing or two. Richard specialized in Pokemon behavior as well as egg hatching. Anna specialized in Pokemon nutrition and health, and was in charge of the diets for most of the Pokemon in the Gym. They had both been an asset when the Gym was finally up and running.

“Whatever, you’d be lost without me,” Richard said while he smiled smugly. Jack simply pouted, knowing he was defeated. Truth was, without either of them, the gym would probably go up in flames. “Oh yeah, Anna told me about Baby Blue.”

Jack nodded. “Turns out she hid in the yellow box that she likes.” Richard looked confused for a moment.

“How did she even manage to get inside it?”

“She ate the bottom off of it. Her Big Jaws ability isn’t just for show you know.” Jack hated to admit it, but for a baby Pokemon, Blue was without a doubt highly intelligent. The same couldn’t be said about her father, Jaws, though.

“Too true, too true. So, do you want me to put it up somewhere,” Richard asked as he walked towards the back rooms.

“Yeah, place it somewhere she can’t get to it,” Jack replied. “Oh, and I already put her down for her nap, so no need to worry about that.” Richard nodded his understanding and walked through the back door. Jack sighed, facing back towards the front and sitting on the ground.

Jack could hear some shuffling sounds above him. It was most likely Arrow playing around up there. No doubt the big guy was just as bored as Jack was at the moment. Jack looked up and without a doubt, a giant Aerodactyl was flying around the support beams near the ceiling.

It struck Jack as surreal, even now, that when he first started his Journey at 16 that his partner would be an Aerodactyl. He had found the old amber during a school trip back in Kalos. He and three other students went on a trip to the Glittering Caves to find and study fossils. The fossils that were found were then taken back to the lab in Ambrete Town to be resurrected. It was sheer luck that he had found the old amber.

Jack smiled at the memories. It wasn’t too long after that trip that he and Arrow started their journey together. Jack reached into his shirt and brought out a small pendant. Placed in the center was a small gemstone with a symbol for DNA in its center. When Jack first got this he was taught bout Mega Evolution, and how Arrow could actually evolve. Granted it lasted for a small period of time, but it was amazing to think about.

Jack stood up, grin plastered on his face and looked back up. “Hey Arrow,” Jack called out, garnering the Pokémon’s attention. Arrow made his decent to his partner, kicking up some dust as he landed. “What do you say we head out and go flying for a bit?” Arrow looked around the Gym before turning his attention back to Jack. “Oh don’t worry about it,” Jack said, knowing what Arrow was thinking. “It’s been a slow day, and we’re both bored out of our minds.” Arrow nodded in agreement. Jack sent a message to Richard to let him know what was happening before they left.

Luckily, they made the front door big enough so that Arrow could easily get in and out without any hassling with things like poke balls. Once outside, Arrow knelt down so that Jack could easily hop on his back. Jack laid down on his stomach and wrapped his arms tightly around Arrows neck.  Jack gave his okay and like a bullet they took off into the sky. Jack had to hold on for dear life at this point. He knew from past experience what letting go meant for him at this point. Jack opened his eyes as he always did when Arrow finally slowed down enough, and looked down.

He was always amazed at how tiny everything seemed from way up high. Arrow was simply gliding in the air right now, flapping his wings every so often to keep them from descending too low. Jack remembered the first time he rode on Arrows back. He remembered how tiny everything was then too. Jack took in a deep breath of air, relishing in the freshness of it.

With a small smirk, he gripped tighter to Arrow and lightly kicked his foot on Arrows back. Arrow knew what that signal meant, and immediately picked up speed. Jack let out n excited yell as he Arrow did tricks in the air, gaining more and more speed. They did this for hours, Arrow finally tired out by evening. Arrow landed back in front of the gym, taking a moment to catch his breath. Jack hopped down from Arrows back, stretching a bit before smiling at his partner.

Arrow gave his trainer a smile of his own before his attention was pulled to the front of the gym. A tall tanned man stood in front of the gym’s entrance. His brown hair was in a mow hawk hairstyle, he wore clothes similar to a miners covered in dirt, and a grin was plastered across his face.

“There you are,” the man said. “Richard said you were going out earlier, but to think you’d get back this late.”

Jack smiled before tackling the taller man. “Tank! I didn’t think you’d get back so early.”

“Yea, well, today wasn’t very fruitful for me,” Tank replied, rubbing the back of his head. “What about you? Any luck with the challengers today?”

“None whatsoever,” Jack sighed. “I got bored, so I and Arrow went out for a bit of a joyride.”

“A joyride that lasted for four hours?”

“Was it really that long?” Before Tank could answer though a voice called out from the entrance.

“There you are, Jack.” Both men turned to see a small Asian woman wearing the standard gear that breeders wore. “Just in time too. We were getting ready to lock up the gym for the day.”

“Hey Anna,” Jack greeted. “So does that mean the Pokemon have been fed and are asleep right now?”

“Well there are always the restless ones, but yes.” Anna pointed a finger at Arrow. “All that’s left now is this big guy. Seeing as you took most of the day to fly, it shouldn’t be too hard putting him to sleep.” Arrow made a complaining noise that was instantly interrupted by a loud yawn. “See there?” Anna teased Arrow.

“Go on, big guy,” Jack insisted. Arrow gave Jack a dirty look before he was led away by Anna. “I’ll see you in the morning Arrow,” Jack called out. Arrow responded with the wave of his wing.

“I guess we should head home too,” Tank spoke up. “Seeing as it is getting late and all.” Jack nodded.

“Guess you’re right. Anna and Richard know how to lock up.” Tank turned to start walking when he felt a heavy weight jump on his back.

“Come on now, really?” Tank complained. He looked over his shoulder to see Jack’s smug grin. “I’m tired from mining fossils all day.”

“But you’re not too tired to complain,” Jack replied with a mischievous grin. “Besides, you’re my boyfriend. You should want to do this kind of thing with me.”

“Yeah, but not when I’m dead tired,” Tank argued. “You forget, I’m also older than you by six years. Things get creaky after a certain age.”

“Not in your thirties, Tank.” Jack adjusted himself on Tanks back to get a more secure hold. “I’ll tell you what though. Carry me home, and I’ll make you not one, but two hamburgers.”

Tank thought on it for a moment. “Add in some fries and I’ll consider it.”

“How about a plate full,” Jack responded swiftly. “Plus, I’ll add some of those spices you like so much.”

“You mean, your special secret spice fries,” Tank asked, mouth drooling. Jack simply nodded. “Alright, you got yourself a deal,” Tank said, now bursting with energy. Tank started sprinting back towards their home in Fallabar Town, Jack holding fast on his back.

From the entrance, Richard and Anna watched as Tank and Jack left down the trail leading back to town. Both wore a smile on their faces.

“Ah, to be young again,” Richard said fondly. “He is right though, things do get creaky after a certain age.” He stretched his back to further emphasize his point.

“Well let’s be glad I haven’t asked you to carry me since our wedding,” Anna said, giggling. “I’m pretty sure if you did, you’d pull something.”

“Hey, I may not be able to carry you, but I am still able to do other things, you know.” Richard took Anna’s hand in his own and kissed it before they started their own trek home.

“Let’s see if we can make it home first,” Anna said with a grin. “Then maybe I’ll think about it.”

“You always were a tease,” Richard replied with a smile. “But I gotta say, that’s what I love about you.”


	2. Jack vs Victor Cruz

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack takes on Victor Cruz, the lone wolf, and later helps with an important task.   
> Character from Red Alpha on FF.net

The month of August finally rolled in, and with it some cool weather. Jack was happy to walk down the path to the gym this fine morning with the breeze blowing across his skin. Tank had already gone in to the gym earlier to send some data he had to a few of his researcher buddies back in Kalos. It was a shame, Jack would have loved the extra company. Not to mention it was the perfect weather to hold hands. Summertime meant sweaty palms, and Jack hated when their hands got all sweaty just from holding the others. Jack too the walk slow for the most part, finally picking up speed when he saw his gym. He didn’t have much to do other than fill out a few forms for the league today, so he was hoping for a challenger today.

Jack started whistling as he got to the front entrance. The doors opened without resistance which meant everyone else was here. Today felt like it was going to be a good day for once. Though that thought was cut short when he heard someone yell, “Hit the deck!” Jack barely had time to duck as a small ball of flaming rock was hurtled above his head, hitting the wall behind him. Once Jack felt he was safe he looked behind him to see a scorch mark on the wall.

He turned back to the room at large. Anna was currently coming towards him, worriedly asking him if he was alright. In the middle of the battle stage stood Tank, wearing his usual Black skull tee and shorts with a white lab coat, and Baby Blue, both looking relieved for obvious reasons. It took Jack a minute to figure out what happened before his attitude when from scared piss ant to raging hulk.

“What the hell man,” Jack exclaimed pointing at the scorch mark. “What are you trying to do, take my head off?!”

“Sorry about that,” Tank replied, rubbing the back of his head. “Anna and I figured it would be best if Baby Blue got in some practice with her Draco meteor attack.” It was about a month ago when their gym got a challenger who wanted to be a pro move tutor. When she saw Baby Blue, the up and coming tutor said that she could teach the Tyrunt Draco Meteor. Jack instantly took the girl up on her offer. Blue however still hadn’t gotten the hang of properly aiming.

Jack sighed angrily and walked up towards the pair with Anna trailing behind him. “How many times do I gotta tell ya? Go use the training room for that if you’re gonna do it. We don’t wanna inadvertently scare off any challengers.”

“But the training room is too small to do that,” Tank complained. “We need a bigger space to train. The battle stage is the only place with enough room for this kind of training.”

“Argh!” Jack was about ready to pull out his hair. It had been a month and there still wasn’t any improvement on Baby Blues aim. “We need to figure out how to do this differently!”

“Well, maybe there is a way she can use the move,” Anna piped up. Both men turned to the small Asian woman. “Give me some time with her. I think I know how she can use the move without needing to aim.” The younger couple gave the older woman a confusing look. “Oh don’t look at me like that, I used to be a trainer too you know.” With that, Anna picked up Baby Blue and headed to the door at the back, presumably going to the training room.

“Well I guess I should get back to sending that data,” Tank said after a moment. “Ah, also before I forget, I left the league paperwork you need to fill out on your desk in the office.”

“Crap, forgot I had to do that today,” Jack groaned. “Guess I should get started on that then.” Jack slowly started his trek to his office while Tank made his way towards the reception room up front. Jack hoped to God he got a challenger in today.

* * *

 

Victor Cruz walked into the Pokemon Center of Fallabar Town with a sense of purpose. Slowly he dusted off his clothing, which consisted of a white V-neck covered by a leather jacket, black jeans and a black belt with a black belt and a Honchcrow belt buckle. His brown eyes scanned the immediate vicinity with a cold look as he knocked the dirt out of his brown hair. The sun briefly glinted off of his gold bracelet as he moved inside the center.

 He had heard of a gym somewhere in Fallabar Town, but upon inspection of the town he had realized it was nothing more than a small farming community. He took a look around just in case, but didn’t see hide nor hair of the place in question. He probably would have looked all day if a passerby hadn’t told him about the sign outside of town.

Victor had decided to stop by the Pokemon center to rest his team up before the battle. He had gotten in a few battles on his way to the gym, so a well-earned rest before a big fight was what they needed at the moment.

“Hello,” Nurse Joy said as the young man walked up to the counter. “Welcome to the Pokemon Center. Would you like to heal your Pokemon today?” Victor nodded before he handed over his three poke balls. “Oh, and may I also see your license as well?” Victor raised an eyebrow before handing over his pokedex. Nurse Joy took the offered pokedex and hooked it up to the nearby computer. After a few minutes of scanning the screen, the nurse smiled and handed back Victors pokedex.

“Sorry about that,” Nurse Joy apologized. “We’ve been having some complaints about people’s Pokemon being stolen in the area.”

“Really?” Victor asked. The nurse nodded.

“Yep, at the moment we’re scanning everybody’s license to make sure that their Pokemon are actually theirs.” A few years ago, Pokemon stealing was on the rise, and as a counter measure trainers Pokedex’s were upgraded with a program that kept up with the trainers on hand Pokemon. If the Pokedex was scanned and the Pokemon did not match up with the ones on hand, the police were instantly informed and would arrive on the scene.

Victor nodded before pocketing his pokedex and watched as his Pokemon were taken away. “Oh are you here to challenge the fossil gym,” a female voice from behind him asked. Victor turned to find another nurse looking at his belt where he kept his badges. Currently he had the Stone Badge, Knuckle Badge, and Dynamo Badge lining the right side of his belt. Victor simply nodded. “It seemed like you only have three Pokemon with you at the moment?”

“Currently, yes,” Victor replied offhandedly, wishing the nurse would just go away already.

“Well, the gym you’re about to challenge has many types of Pokemon revived from fossils. You don’t really have many battle options with just three Pokemon.” Victor rolled his eyes and shrugged. He always hated when people said things like this to him. He was very particular about what Pokemon would be on his team. So far he was doing just fine with his three current team members, so much so that he had three badges with just these Pokemon alone.

“Well, that’s my opinion at least,” the nurse said after a tense silence. “Anyway, good luck in your battle.” Victor watched for a moment as the nurse scampered away in the other direction. Honestly, he just wanted people to leave him alone. All he needed were his Pokemon, at least he could trust them.

Afternoon found Victor walking along the path to the Fossil Gym. He grabbed a bit to eat from the center before his Pokemon were returned to him and he set out. He did find the sign at least, a giant yellow arrow pointing towards a dirt pathway, Fossil Gym written on it in black ink. At the time he thought it was some kind of gag, but soon enough he could see a building off in the distance. It was obvious it was a gym due to the logo of a poke ball on the center of the roof. It was a simple enough building from the looks of it. A simple red building with black lining the bottom of it, most likely from dirt or something. It was settled against the mountain wall, and looked like it was built into the mountain.

Victor noticed an opening in the mountain on the right side of the gym. A sign was posted there as well, Fossil Mine written once again in black ink. It made sense that a gym with fossil Pokemon would be placed next to a fossil mine, but Victor had to wonder if the people running the place were on some kind of budget. Judging from both signs and the size of the gym, it seemed like they didn’t have too much money. Then again the gym is built into the mountain side, so it was possible that the gym itself might be bigger inside.

Victor stepped up to the too big sliding glass door and walked inside. At the reception area, an older looking man with tan skin and a Mohawk lying flat against his skull looked up to see Victor standing at the entrance. “Oh hello,” the man greeted as Victor walked up to the counter. “My name is Tank, how can I help you today?”

“Challenge,” Victor simply stated. The man looked confused for a moment before he noticed the Badges on his belt.

“Oh, you’re here to challenge the gym leader,” Tank said. Victor nodded as he stood up. “Alright then, if you would just follow me to the next room real quick.” Victor followed Tank to the battle room, which housed a giant rocky terrain that took up a great space of the floor. “If you want, you can wait in the challengers spot over there.”

Tank pointed over to a part of the floor that had a large poke ball painted onto the floor. “I’ll just be a minute. I have to go and get the Gym Leader real quick,” Tank said as he walked off. “He’s doing some paperwork, but I’m sure he’ll be glad to see that you’re here.” Victor watched as the older man walked through a door in the back. Victor walked over to the challenger’s spot and crossed his arms as he stood there to wait.

* * *

 

Jack rested his head on his desk, pen held in his right hand and paperwork in his left. He placed the finished paperwork to the side, finally done with it. “And all it took was skipping out on lunch,” Jack thought to himself. His stomach gave out a loud protest once he started to think about food. “Oh shut up. If I didn’t skip it, I’d be here till evening filling out paperwork.” If it was up to Jack, he wouldn’t be filing out the quarterly paperwork that was mandatory for all gym leaders to fill out. Still, if it wasn’t for the league he wouldn’t even have a gym here.

A knock on his door interrupted Jacks thoughts. “Come in,” he called out. The door opened revealing Tank with a grin on his face.

Tank took a quick look around the office before asking, “You done with the paperwork?” Jack nodded. “Good, cause a challenger is waiting for you up front.” It took Jack a moment to register what had just been said. With all the paperwork and no food his mind had turned to mush. But once he figured out what was going on, he was out of the door in a flash and calling out for Anna. Tank stood there with a smile on his face. He liked it when Jack got challengers, liked seeing him all excited and full of energy. Tank noticed a box on the desk before he left. Tank sighed when he noticed it was empty. “That idiot forgot to eat.”

* * *

 

Jack had managed to find Anna and Richard, and stuffed Baby Blue into her poke ball. “And you’re sure she can use it now,” Jack asked as they entered the battle area.

“Yes,” Anna answered annoyed. “Now stop badgering me about it. You have a challenger to face.”

 Jack looked around till he spotted his challenger and started running towards him at a breakneck speed. “Hey there,” Jack greeted once he stopped. Up close, the kid probably wasn’t more than fourteen, and he seemed to have this cold demeanor about him. Ah well, in Jack’s mind a challenger was a challenger.

“Sorry if I kept you waiting or anything,” Jack said. “So what’s your name?”

“No problem,” the young boy stated. “It’s Victor.” Seemed like he wasn’t much of a talker either.

“Right then,” Jack said awkwardly. “Anyway, my name is Jack. How many badges do you have right now?” Victor simply held up three fingers. “Three huh? Alright then, I know what Pokemon I need then. I guess I don’t need to explain any rules then?” When Victor shook his head, Jack nodded. “Alright then, I’ll get in position and we’ll get started.”

Jack ran back over to his end of the battle stage in a similar spot to Victor. Jack looked over at Tank who stood in the referee spot and nodded. Anna and Richard took a seat on the nearby chairs off on the sideline to watch the battle.

Tank nodded back before speaking in a loud voice. “Welcome everyone to today’s match. In our challengers corner we have Victor, who has come to earn the Old Amber Badge.” Tank immediately pointed towards Jacks side before speaking again. “And in the Leaders corner we have our very own Jack, King of Fossil Pokemon.” Anna and Richard groaned as Tank spoke the last part aloud. At some point Jack had convinced Tank to refer to Jack as King of fossil Pokemon whenever he referred a match. Apparently it was to intimidate the challengers; Anna figured it was just an ego booster. To say the older couple were embarrassed was a stretch.

Victor however didn’t look the least bit fazed. “The rules are simple,” Tank continued. “This will be a one on one battle. Each person is only allowed to use three Pokemon. The challenger can switch out his Pokemon if he so chooses to during battle. The Gym Leader however has no luxury, and must therefore keep out his Pokemon till they are defeated. Are we clear on the rules?” Both Jack and Victor nodded. “Then send out your first Pokemon.”

 “Here’s my first one then,” Jack said, throwing a poke ball into the air. In a bright flash of light a small bug like creature landed on the ground. “You’re up Anorith.”

Victor followed Jacks lead. “Serendite,” he called out, throwing his poke ball into the air. Another flash of light later and an Umbreon appeared on the battlefield.

“Since you’re the challenger, you get the first move,” Jack said with a grin. It was common courtesy to give the challenger the first move.

Victor nodded and moved to hold his right arm out in front of him. “Sucker punch,” He called out. In a flash, the Umbreon was in front of the Anorith and brought down a glowing paw onto the bug Pokemon in a direct hit. Serendite moved back a few paces to wait for her trainer’s next order.

Jack was surprised. He had never really expected to see such a fast Pokemon. Still though, the odds were in his favor. Anorith was a dual rock type, so that attack most likely didn’t do too much damage. “My turn then,” Jack said. “Anorith, attack with Furry Cutter.” Anorith’s claws began to glow a greenish color before he charged towards Serendite. However, with her speed Serendite easily dodged the incoming attack.

“Psychic,” Victor called out. Serendite’s eyes began to glow a bright blue. The same color enveloped Anorith’s body and he was hoisted into the air. Anorith began freaking out at being so high in the air, while Jack could do nothing more than watch what was going to happen. With a telekinetic pulse, Serendite sent Anorith hurdling towards the wall on Jacks side of the field. The small bug type met the wall with a loud resounding crash. Anorith was down and out once he had hit the floor.

“The winner of this round is Serendite,” Tank called out. “Jack please choose your next Pokemon.”

Jack nodded and returned Anorith to his poke ball. ‘Guy has a strong Pokemon for sure,” Jack thought to himself. ‘Took my Anorith out in pretty much one blow.’ Jack debated on who to bring out next, selecting one poke ball from his belt buckle. With a nod of his head, he the the spherical object up.

“You’re up, Baby Blue,” he called out as the blue Tyrunt landed onto the field. “Alright then, this’ll be your big debut so don’t go messing it up.” Baby blue jumped in joy a Jack looked over at Victor. “Victor, you wanna go ahead and switch out Pokemon?” Victor simply shook his head.

“Then the next match is between Baby Blue and Serendite,” Tank said. “Begin!”

“Sucker Punch,” Victor called out. Serendite once again moved at an amazing speed as she charged towards Baby Blue.

“Sorry, not this time I’m afraid,” Jack said. “Baby Blue, use Dig!” At the command, Baby blue started digging underground. She managed to burrow herself fully before Serendite could hit her. The next few moments were tense as Serendite stood where she was, trying to figure out where the small dragon type would pop up. It didn’t take long though before Victor figured out what was going to happen next.

“Serendite behind…” It was too late however when Baby Blue popped out of the ground behind Serendite.

“Now Ice Fang,” Jack called out. Baby Blue latched onto Serendite’s tail as with ice cold teeth. Serendite cried out in surprise, flailing around the arena to get Baby Blue to let go. Baby Blue for her part held on like a pro. Serendite could feel her tail beginning to freeze as ice from Baby Blues jaw started to spread. It took a moment, but Serendite finally managed to dislodge Baby Blue from her tail. The Tyrunt landed awkwardly on her butt, but managed to recover easily enough. While Serendite managed to get rid of Baby Blue from her tail, both it and her right leg were covered in ice. Victor grimaced, thinking Jack wanted to immobilize Serendite, or at least slow her down. ‘He’s smarter than he looks,’ Victor thought to himself. Well, the bastard managed to do it but it didn’t mean Serendite was out for the count yet.

“Toxic,” Victor commanded. Serendite simply nodded, her eyes once again glowing purple. A large pool of sludge formed underneath Baby Blue, who looked confused as to what was happening. Jack however knew exactly what was going on, but before he could warn her the sludge covered Baby blue from head to toe.

Baby Blue managed to shake it off, however she had started to feel funny. Her vision started to swim and she felt hot all of a sudden. Jack bit his thumb in frustration. Victor probably figured Serendite was going to lose this round and decided to poison Baby Blue, who had a purple line form across her snout.

From this point on, it was all a gamble. Baby Blue was running on borrowed time right now, so Jack needed to finish this up quick. “Baby Blue, dig.” Baby blue was at least lucid enough to follow the command as she quickly burrowed her way underground, Jack wanted to avoid the Psychic attack at all costs.

Serendite looked around her immediate area, in case she could move out of the way. However, luck didn’t seem to be on her side when Baby Blue popped up from under her and made crushing contact with her abdomen. The attack caught Serendite off guard, knocking the wind completely out of her. She fell limply to the ground, obviously KO’d from the surprise attack.

“Serendite is unable to battle, this round goes to Baby blue and Jack.” Baby Blue jumped in joy as she ran over to Jack in excitement. Jack bent down to give Baby Blue a pat on the head. “

“Good job out there,” Jack said solemnly. Baby Blue still had that streak of purple across her snout meaning that she was still poisoned. “I’m gonna need you to hold out for as long as you can alright? Fight with everything you got, you hear me?” Baby Blue looked confused for a moment before she nodded her head enthusiastically.

Baby Blue took back her place on the arena, waiting for the next opponent. Victor had already returned Serendite to her poke ball, and had another already in his hand. “Raijin,” he called out as he threw it into the air. After a bright flash, a Pikachu stood opposite of Baby Blue. It looked ready for battle as electricity flashed from its cheeks. For a moment Jack was confused.

“Um, are you sure you don’t want to use a different Pokemon?” Victor raised a brow, wondering what Jack was going on about. “You mean you really don’t know? Man what do you even have a pokedex for anyway if you’re not even gonna use it. Baby Blue is a rock-dragon type, which means your Pikachu’s attacks aren’t gonna do much good against her.”

“Not worried,” Victor replied simply. Jack huffed, but didn’t say anything further. It seemed like this kid Knew what he was doing

“Whatever you say.” Tank raised his hand to gain the trainers attention.

“Next match is Raijin against Baby Blue. Ready? Begin!”

“Brick Break,” Victor called out almost instantly. Raijin moved at a faster pace than Serendite, which made him a more formidable opponent. Baby Blue barely had time to dodge the incoming attack, missing her by a hair. “Lucky,” Victor muttered. “Again!”

“Oh hell no,” Jack exclaimed. “Baby Blue jump!” The poisoned Tyrunt did it’s best to jump as high as she could to avoid the attack. Raijin missed again, but Baby Blue stumbled upon landing again. Raijin saw his opening and made contact from behind, glowing tail coming in contact with Baby Blues back. Baby Blue was sent flying across the field, landing on her stomach. She struggled to get back up, the poison in her body making it hard to do so. Her vision swam and clouded, and she shook her head to clear it.

Victor saw the condition Baby Blue was in, and decided that he needed to end quickly. To him, there wasn’t any need to make the poor thing suffer for much longer. “Raijin, Hidden Power.” Jack’s eyes widened as he saw the Pikachu build up a power of ice.  “Closer,” Victor commanded. Raijin seemed to understand what his trainer meant and quickly charged towards with the pent up energy, intending to get close enough to get a direct hit.

“Not just yet,” Jack called out. “Blue, Draco Meteor!”

Raijin was right on top of Baby Blue, ready to release the move. However, there was a sudden fire in Baby Blues eyes. Before anyone could gauge what was happening, Baby Blue had let off a close range attack of Draco Meteor just as Raijin let out his Hidden Power move. Both attacks hit their respective targets, and a cloud of dust was kicked up around both Pokemon. It was a tense few moments before the dust settled to reveal both Pokemon knocked out cold.

“This battle is a tie,” Tank announced. Jack called for Richard, who was quickly on his feet and by Baby Blues side. The older man picked up the knocked out Tyrunt and started to carry her towards the back room. Jack looked worried for Baby Blue, but smiled all the same. That last move was a last ditch effort, but it paid off somewhat. She did a really good job in her first real battle, defeating one and drawing a tie in the second battle.

Victor returned Raijin to his poke ball, giving him silent praise for a battle well fought. He looked over at Jack, analyzing the gym leader. He wasn’t as dumb as he had first thought. Letting that Tyrunt battle for the first time against a fully evolved Pokemon was a beginner mistake. Or he thought so at least. Who would have thought it would have taken out his first two Pokemon in her first battle?

Victor shook his head, telling himself it wasn’t the time to be amazed. Throwing up his last poke ball, a bright light was let out that formed into a Croconaw. Jack threw up his last poke ball as well, letting out a Cranidos that looked more than eager to battle.

“Just letting you know this right now, this little guy is feisty.” And he looked the part too. The fossil Pokemon was jumping from one foot to the other in anticipation. Looking to his pokedex, Victor took note that Cranidos was a pure rock type, meaning that he and Disaster had the advantage. Jack, however, didn’t look at all worried if the smug smile on his face was any indicator.

“Alright,” Tank said. “This is the deciding battle. Should Victor win this, he will receive the Old Amber badge.” ‘Oh, I’m gonna win this alright,’ Victor thought. He had trained too hard to let this badge slip from his fingers. “Trainers Ready?” Both Jack and Victor nodded. “Then begin!”

“Hydro Pump,” Victor called out. Disaster let out a geyser of water from its mouth aimed directly at Cranidos.

“Dodge it,” Jack retorted. Cranidos simply side stepped the high jet water. “Rock polish!” Cranidos let out a battle cry and his body became shinier.

Vicotr didn’t know what making his Pokemon all shiny for was about. Was Jack just playing with him now? “Ice beam.” Disaster shot out a blast of ice from its mouth aimed directly at Cranidos. Jack shook his finger.

“Dodge,” Jack called out. Cranidos dodged another attack, but now it seemed to have much more speed than last time.

“How,” Vicotr questioned. How on earth could Cranidos have more speed than it did just a few seconds ago.

“Rock Polish isn’t just for show you know,” Jack said. Victor looked over at him confused. “It’s a rock type move that boosts the users speed.” Jack grinned. “You aren’t the only one with speedy Pokemon you know.”

Victor’s eyes had widened. So the move wasn’t just for show then? He clenched his hand in frustration. His initial impression about this guy was completely wrong then. But still, Victor would pull a win out of this somehow. “Disaster, Rock Tomb.” The Croconaw raised its hands as it summoned up the rocks of the arena into the air before hurtling them at Cranidos. If Cranidos really was that fast, then Victor needed to slow it down.

“Take Down,” Jack called out. Cranidos weaved through the rocks, his head breaking through those that got in his path. In an instant Cranidos had made contact with Disaster, sending him rolling along the field. Disaster was back on his feet in an instant. Victor was stunned at the speed at which the fossil Pokemon possessed. The attack had caught both Victor and Disaster completely off guard. Victor gritted his teeth, figuring out a strategy to defeat his opponent.

“Zen Head-butt,” Jack called out, not giving Victor any time. Cranidos started charging towards Disaster at full speed, his forehead glowing a bright purple color.

“Ice beam,” Victor called out in response. Disaster let out a beam of ice from its mouth, making Cranidos dodge the incoming attack and made him lose his momentum. ‘This thing is fast,’ Victor thought to himself. He needed to slow it down somehow, that last Rock Tomb just didn’t do much. Disaster didn’t have Ice Fang like Baby Blue, but maybe… “Ice beam, on the ground!” Disaster understood the simple command and covered the ground around him in ice. It wasn’t long before a sheet of Ice surrounded him on all sides.

Jack, who seemed to have caught on to what Victor was doing, smirked. “Not a bad Idea, covering the ground around you in Ice. It would definitely make it hard for Cranidos to walk on, that’s for sure.” To emphasize Jacks point, Cranidos had started trying to walk on the ice, only to slip and glide along the surface of it. Victor raised an eyebrow, wondering where Jack was going with this.

“But you see, you should have made it a little bit thicker than what it is now.” Cranidos reared his head back. “Cranidos can easily crack it with a simple head butt.” Victor watched with wide eyes as Cranidos brought his head down on the ice. The small expanse of Ice surrounding Disaster shattered completely, the head butt possessed enough force to shatter the whole expanse of it. “Now then, Take Down!”

Cranidos Charged once again at Disaster who fired off a few more Ice Beams to try and throw him off. Cranidos simply sidestepped them and once again crashed head first into Disasters abdomen. The Croconaw kept its footing, but kneeled down on one of his knees when he managed to stop. Victor groaned in frustration. The Cranidos was just inhumanly fast. Victor needed something and quick. No doubt that Cranidos was weakened a bit from those Take Down attacks. From his pokedex, Cranidos didn’t seem to possess the Rock Head ability, which was good for them. Most of the attacks that Disaster had made were mostly long range, which Cranidos dodged easily enough.

It was then that Victor thought of something. They still had one move they hadn’t used yet, but disaster would have to wait till Cranidos was close enough to use it. They would have to finish it in one hit too, the backlash from the move would surely come back to bite them if they didn’t. Victor looked up to see Disaster looking back at him with a knowing look. The Croconaw nodded his approval, vowing to end this with one shot. It was a gamble though, if they didn’t finish it Cranidos’ speed would be their undoing. This was all or nothing.

Jack noticed the battle was drawing to its conclusion, and from the looks on both Victor and Disasters faces they had come up with a plan. Jack watched Cranidos jump from one foot to the other. It looked like Cranidos realized it was coming to an end as well. “Cranidos, put everything you have into this last attack.” Cranidos looked back and nodded at his trainer. “Alright then, Zen Head-butt full speed ahead!” Cranidos practically launched itself forward, kicking up dust and rocks in its wake.

Disaster simply stood there in a defensive position, waiting for Victors command. At the rate Cranidos was going, it would be too late to stop the attack once Victor gave the command. Victor watched with bated breath as with every second Cranidos got closer. They needed to time this perfectly if it was going to work. With every second, Victor become more and more nervous. It was then that he saw it. Time seemed to slow down, and allowed the young trainer to see the perfect moment. This was it, make it or break it.

“Now Disaster, Superpower!” Disaster’s body glowed with a supernatural light, a gust of wind knocking around the dirt beneath its feet. It was too late for Cranidos to even try and stop as Disaster pulled back his fist. Once Cranidos was in range, Disaster cocked his arm lie a gun and punched forward with as much might as he could. His fist met with Cranidos’ head in an upward jab, sending Cranidos a few feet in the air, twirling around as he descended. Disaster got ready for another punch. Once Cranidos was nearer to the ground, Disaster jumped up and gave him another super powered punch that sent Cranidos straight to the dirt, creating a small crater where he landed from the force of the impact. One look was all Tank needed to see to know that Cranidos was out for the count.

“Cranidos can no longer battle!” Tank announced. “The winner of this battle and the Old Amber Badge is Victor!” Victor let out a sigh of relief as Disaster came up to his side to give the young trainer a well-deserved pat on the back. Disaster and Victor smiled at each other, glad that they had won this hard fought battle.

Jack approached the duo of trainer and Pokemon with badge in hand. Cranidos had been carried off by Anna, and Tank had decided to join Jack to congratulate Victor. “Gotta say, that was a ballsy move you guys pulled off,” Jack said once he and Victor were face to face. “If you had called it at the wrong time, your Croconaw would have lost the battle.” Victor shrugged it off like it was nothing, but inside he was freaking out about how much Jack was right about it. “But it was a move that completely obliterated me in the end. So to show that you actually did beat me take this.” Jack held out a small badge that was in the shape of Old Amber.

“That is the Old Amber Badge,” Tank spoke up. “You are one of the few who have beaten this gym, and thus are one step closer to entering the Pokemon League. Congratulations young man.” Victor took the badge from Jack and placed it beside the other badges on his belt.

“Well then, now that that’s over how about we, uh…” Jack didn’t get to say much more as Victor turned about face and made to leave the gym.

“Would you like us to heal your Pokemon,” Tank asked, but Victor was already out the door and it looked like he wasn’t going to look back anytime soon. “Must not be a people person.” Tank shrugged his shoulders before looking over at Jack, who seemed to be in deep thought. Tank shook the smaller man and said, “That battle took a while, it’s just about dark.”

Jack nodded his head and turned to go towards the back door. However a large hand landed on Jacks head, preventing him from going further. “One other thing,” Tank said as he moved his lovers head to look at him. “You forgot to eat your lunch today,” Tank stated with a cruel smile.

Jack had a horrified look on his face, knowing what was going to happen. “You know you shouldn’t just leave your lunch that your boyfriend made for you out like that without eating it.” A hand was placed on each cheek of Jacks face. “Otherwise, you’d have to be punished.” A loud scream was all Anna and Richard heard as they went about their usual duties.

* * *

 

Closing up took about thirty minute’s total. Jack locked the door behind him, turning back to see Tank, Richard and Anna waiting for him. “Alright then, let’s head back home then.” The others nodded and the group started their trek back to town. It had grown dark when they were closing up, and it seemed a good idea to travel in a group since it meant the use of only one flashlight. There was also the fact of Pokemon thieves being around recently. Even though they only currently had one Pokemon each, they still didn’t want to risk being caught off guard in groups of two.

Jack thought of Victor and about how it was getting dark when he had left after their battle. Jack hoped the kid made it back safely to town at least. The group had made it to the end of the road leading to the gym without incident. However as they neared the entrance to Fallabar Town, Jack noticed police lights. As they got closer he noticed a police officer talking to a smaller figure. Jack suddenly had a bad feeling and ran towards the policeman. He ignored the calls of his friends and when he got close enough, his fears were realized.

Victor was talking to the officer, a few bruises had formed along his face and arms. “Hey,” Jack called out once he was close enough. “Hey kid!” Victor turned to Jack with a hard steel gaze. Jack stopped short when he noticed the glare. It was offset by their puffiness though, which meant the kid had been crying. “What’s going on? What happened?” By this time, the rest of his small group managed to catch up to him. Anna gasped at Victor’s state.

“Oh my word! You poor thing, what happened to you?” The police officer who was still questioning Victor cleared his throat.

“Do you all know this young man?” Victor looked away from everyone when Jack answered the question.

“He challenged my gym earlier. What’s going on here?” The officer sighed.

“It seems this young man was robbed of his Pokemon.” The group jolted in surprise at the news. “I had found him walking along the road like this not too long ago. It seems he was ambushed, beaten, and his Pokemon were stolen when he could no longer fight back.”

“That’s awful,” Anna replied. Victor simply scoffed.

“His description of three fugitives seems to match up with other people who have had their Pokemon stolen along this route,” the officer continued. “It is most likely that they have a base nearby, but no one has been able to locate it.”

“I may be able to locate where it might be,” Tank spoke up. All eyes were suddenly on him. “I have a device that I use for locating fossils in the mines,” he said as he shrugged.

“You mean the dowsing machine,” Jack asked.

“Modified Dowsing Machine,” Tank corrected. “I fixed the one I had so it could identify where fossils might be. It was a rousing success if I do say so myself.” Jack and Anna rolled their eyes at Tank figuratively patting himself on the back.

“What does this have to do with locating thieves,” Richard asked.

“Well I can probably modify it again so it could pick up the frequency that the poke balls emit. The main way that the pokedex and Poke balls are connected is the special frequency that is shared between both. If I can hook up Victor’s pokedex to my Modified Dowsing Machine, I’m sure I can locate where the thieves are hiding.” Tank looked over to Victor. “That means I’m going to need your help a bit. I need to borrow your pokedex for a while if this is even going to remotely going to work.”

Victor mulled over his own thoughts for a moment. The pokedex was the only thing that could locate his Pokemon right now. If there was an off chance this could work, he’d have his Pokemon back. But it wasn’t a sure fire way. A device like that would need extensive testing, and who knew what those guys were doing to his Pokemon right now. Not to mention people had let him down before-

His thoughts were interrupted when a hand landed on his shoulder. Looking up, Victor saw Jack with a soft expression on his face. “Listen kid, I know it’s tough,” Jack said. “Believe me I know. You’re the type who believes he can only rely on his closest friends. It just so happens that those friends are your Pokemon. I know because I was once like that too.” Victors eyes widened in disbelief. “But I learned that you have to give people faith. If you don’t, you’re only gonna grow up thinking that people are your worst enemies.

“I know that it’s tough putting’ your faith in people,” Jack continued. “But at some point, you gotta take a leap of faith. We wanna help, so please.” Victor looked into Jack’s eyes where he only saw sincerity and hope in them. Victor looked down and pulled out the pokedex from his pocket and handed it to Jack. Jack smiled and took the pokedex and handed it over to Tank. Jack looked back to Victor and said, “We won’t let you down, you’ll see.”

“Right then,” Tank spoke up. “I’ll need to go to the house to pick up some tools. Richard do you think you could help me?”

“I’ll do what I can,” the elder man said.

Tank nodded and then turned back to the officer. “Could you gather some of your men and meet us back here in half an hour?”

“That I can do,” the officer said with a salute. Tank nodded again and turned his attention to Jack, Victor, and Anna.

“Jack and Anna, take Victor here to the Pokemon Center. Explain what happened and get him patched up.” Victor looked up with wide eyes, wanting to protest, but he looked back at Jack who shook his head.

“As you are now it’s not a smart idea to go with them,” Jack told him. “You need to get patched up. We’ll wait at the center for them to get back, okay?” Victor looked down with tears in his eyes. He balled his fists up in frustration but nodded all the same. Jack nodded over to Tank who then nodded back to the police officer. The three groups split up to head to their destinations and do what they needed to do.

* * *

 

Victor had been ringing his hands for about half an hour now and his leg had been bouncing up and down for Arceus knew how long. He and Anna had been sitting in the waiting room after the nurses had patched him up the best that they could. Admittedly it was more a hospital for Pokemon than people, but they said he wasn’t too badly beaten. Jack and Anna thought it best for the three of them to wait for the others at the center. Victor however wanted to oppose, but kept his mouth shut. Jack was right, Victor was in no shape to help find his Pokemon.

It did go without saying though that Victor was losing patience at a quacking pace. Anna and Jack tried to get Victors mind off of things for as long as they could. They fed him, told him about various fossils, Jack even talked about how he opened his gym. Nothing worked though, no matter how hard they tried Victor just was not interested. It had been two hours since they had gotten to the center and got Victor patched up.

At the moment, it was just Anna and Victor sitting in the waiting room. Jack had gotten up and gone somewhere, saying he needed to check on something. Victor checked his watch again, noting the time and groaning. He should be out there right now looking for his friends. Maybe he shouldn’t have listened to Jack in the first place. Maybe he would have found his friends by now. Victor sighed, knowing that even if he did find his friends, he wouldn’t have been able to do much of anything. Right now he needed to wait. Victor just hoped he put his faith in the right people.

Anna took notice of one of the nurses walking up to them. Anna stood up and met the nurse halfway. “Do you have word about the thieves?” The nurse sadly shook her head.

“I’m afraid I don’t have any news about that,” the nurse replied. “But I’m afraid that I have to ask if you are staying or going.” Victor looked up when she said that.

“But surely you know of the situation,” Anna asked.

“I do,” the nurse said. “Sadly though, we cannot take special measures. This has more to do with security reasons and I hope you can understand.” Victor stood up with the intent of speaking his mind at the moment before he was stopped once again by a hand on his shoulder.

“That’s quite alright,” Jack spoke up from behind Victor. “We understand. Victor will be staying the night at my place anyway.” Anna looked back at Jack.

“Are you sure,” she asked, and Jack nodded.

“I’m sure,” Jack said. “We’re gonna have a pretty busy night anyway.” Victor and Anna looked at him confusedly. “Tank just gave me a call saying to meet him over at the police station.” Jack looked at Victor with a smile. “Seems like it’s your lucky night.”

* * *

 

Victor practically ran into the station with Jack and Anna on his heels. They stopped at the reception desk to ask for directions before they were off again, Victor leading the way. The trio spotted Tank standing in front of one of the doors.

“Bout time you guys got here,” he said before leading them into the room. The room itself held a few electronic devices, mainly for recording purposes, with a one way mirror on one side of the wall. At the other side was Richard who was leaning down to feed three Pokemon: a Pikachu, a Croconaw, and an Umbreon. Victor practically cried when he spotted them. Disaster took notice of Victor first and ran towards his trainer. Raijin and Serendite looked up to see what the fuss was about and saw Victor as well.

Victor met Disaster halfway, embracing the Pokemon in a tight hug. Disaster hugged back just as tight as Raijin and Serendite made their way over. Victor moved so Serendite and Disaster were each held in one arm, and Raijin made his way onto Victors shoulder to nuzzle his cheek. “I thought I had lost you guys,” Victor managed to choke out, trying to keep himself as composed as he could in the given circumstance.

A throat cleared itself, directing everyone’s eyes towards the officer from earlier. “I’m sorry for interrupting the happy reunion, “he said, “But we do need Mr. Cruz to identify the men in the next room.” The officer flipped a switch and the once blank mirror shifted to reveal three men in spiked biker jackets. Victor walked up to the one way mirror and examined each man before he nodded.

“No doubt about it,” Victor replied. “They’re the ones who ambushed me and took my Pokemon.” The officer nodded and took out a notepad and pen.

“Then I am going to need to get a statement from you. Hopefully with it we can put these men away for a long while.” Victor nodded and told the officer exactly what happened.

* * *

 

It was the following morning, and Jack and Anna stood with Victor on the route out of town, telling him where the next town and gym was. “Thank you again for last night,” Victor said. “I don’t know what I would have done if you guys didn’t show up when you did.”

Jack waved off the thanks. “It wasn’t a problem,” Jack replied. “I’m just glad we could help put those guys away.” Jack had a look of sudden realization come across his face as he reached for his belt and pocket. He produced a poke ball and shiny stone and held them out for Victor to take. “These are for you,” Jack said.

Victor looked at the gifts with a confused expression before taking them and pocketing the stone. He opened the poke ball and suddenly found himself with an armful of Togepi. The Togepi happily cooed when she saw Victor holding her.

“Her name is Princess,” Jack said when Victor looked back at him for an explanation. “Tank found her wandering outside our gym one morning. He wanted to catch her but couldn’t. We figured she had been abounded by her previous trainer, but the trainer forgot to properly release her. We put her up for adoption at the center, but made sure they would call us if anyone was interested. We wanted her to be in good hands.”

“So you’re giving her to me,” Victor asked.

“Yep,” Jack replied. “Tank and I talked it over last night. I got Princess’ poke ball from the center before we left to go to the police station.”

“So that was where you went off to,” Anna piped up and Jack nodded.

“When you went to bed last night,” Jack continued, “we talked it over. I had a shiny stone hidden away and decided to give it to you too.”

“What does the shiny stone do,” Victor asked.

“Togepi evolves into Togetic,” Jack explained. “The shiny stone can further evolve Togetic into Togekiss. Both of them are Flying-Fairy types, and I figured you’d need at least a flying type on your team.”

Victor looked down at Princess, who happily cooed again when she saw Victor look at her. Victor smiled happily and nodded. “Alright then, thank you,” he said before he put Princess back in her ball.

“No problem,” Jack said. “Just think of it as me and Tank putting our faith in you to take care of her.” Victor remembered Jacks words form last night and took those words to heart. It would take time, but maybe he could learn to trust other people. At least for now, he knew he could trust Jack for the moment.

“I will,” Victor promised. With that he set off down the path. Jack and Anna watched him until he was out of sight.

“Do you think he’ll be alright,” Anna asked Jack.

“I think he will be,” Jack replied. “But let’s not worry about that. Let’s worry about getting to the gym to make sure no one’s burnt it to the ground.” Anna nodded her head as they laughed and made their way towards the gym.


	3. The curious hippy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack takes on a weird hippy challenger, and also has to deal with Tank being suddenly distant  
> Character by Motor Dog on Fanfiction.net

September was nearing its end; leaves had already changed color and started to fall, some of the stores in neighboring towns had Halloween stock, and the weather called for light jackets. One such jacket was worn by Jack, a rather large jacket that covered him nearly to the knees. Orange in color and going perfectly with the current season. Having to simply wear the jacket would have made the short man ecstatic, since it belonged to Tank. However, as of late the older man had been distant with his younger counterpart.

Jack couldn’t figure out the reason for it either. He had made various attempts to figure out if anything was wrong, but Tank would simply shrug him off saying that there was nothing wrong. Jack had to call bullshit on that one. Then he figured maybe he had forgot something. There weren’t any important days nearby, both their anniversary and Tanks birthday had already passed. Jack would try to cull more out of his boyfriend, but he just wouldn’t open up no matter what he said. Hell, it had been two weeks and the couple hadn’t even been intimate with each other.

It was fine by Jack though, sex was nice but it was only part of the relationship. HE wanted to know what was bothering Tank so badly that he wouldn’t even talk to him. The small ginger had been so deep in thought that he collided with the door of the gym. Jack shook himself, rubbing the sore spot in his head. He walked inside, noticing the empty reception desk that Tank had claimed as his own. Jack sighed, figuring that Tank was back in the mines again today. It was another constant that Jack had to deal with these past two weeks.

With a sad expression, Jack walked into the battle arena and was instantly greeted by Anna, Shelldon the Caracosta, and his two month old son Tortuga. They had still yet to come up with a name for the newborn, but it seemed to like to go by its natural name for the time being.

“Hey Anna,” Jack greeted as he walked up to the small group.

“Hello Jack,” Anna greeted back. Shelldon gave a wave to his trainer, which Jack returned. “You’re just in time. Shelldon here was just about to teach his son the move Aqua Jet.” Jack raised a brow at that.

“Really now,” Jack asked turning towards the Caracosta. “You trying to get your son battle ready, huh?” Shelldon gave an eager nod of his head. “Well, just don’t push him too hard, alright? He’s still just a kid after all.” With a grin Jack and Anna stepped back to the sidelines to watch the development.

“Tank still in the mines,” Anna asked knowingly. She and her husband had noticed the older of the couple had become distant these past couple weeks, though they weren’t sure why.

Jack nodded his head sadly. “Yeah. I shouldn’t be surprised, but it kinda hurts that he won’t talk to me about it.” It seemed like it didn’t matter what he tried, Tank just wouldn’t open up to Jack. “I tried doing all I could to get him to tell me what’s wrong, but he won’t say anything.”

Anna placed a hand on the younger man’s shoulder. “Give him some time,” she said. “He’ll come around sooner or later.” Jack nodded his head, hoping the older woman was right.

* * *

 

On the outskirts of Fallabar Town, a man walks along the dirt road, the Slowking by his side keeping stride with him easily. If anyone were around, he would be a curious sight to behold. His wavy purple hair came down to his shoulders with a matching goatee, a large tie-dye sweater encompassing his torso, faded blue bell bottom jeans. Along with a peace sing around his neck, an ankh earring in his left ear, and a large round set of orange sunglasses on his face completed the odd ensemble. He wore sandals on his feet as he deemed his Sherpa boots unnecessary at the moment; it wasn’t that cold yet. He wasn’t unattractive though. His fair skin and attractive features attracted plenty of attention, not that he noticed any of it. The man and his Slowking slowed to a stop in front of a sign that pointed towards the Fallabar Gym.

“Ah, this muuuust be it,” he said lazily. “The gym with the fossil Pokemon.”

“It has to be,” a voice from beside him answered. The man looked down at the Slowking by his side. “It’s the only place within miles of the town.”

The man nodded lazily and smiled. “Noooo doubt maaan. I’ll get to seeee me some fossil Pokemon, Annand if I’m luuucky be able to challenge the gym and get a new baaadge.” He had five badges so far, his last victory being from the nearby Lavaridge Town. “C’mon Monk, levees goooo!”

“Right behind you, Cosmo,” the Slowking said as he trailed behind his hippy of a trainer.

 The odd duo made their way slowly along the trail leading to the hidden gym. Cosmo wouldn’t have it any other way. He liked taking his time and observing the sights. In his mind the world was beautiful and vast place, and he wanted to see all there was to see. In his younger years, he would have been eager to go and challenge the gym no questions asked. Time however had a way of mellowing people out as they got older. The brash and bold young man that he used to be gave way to an older, wiser, and more chilled out man as time passed.

As years passed, he found a love for meditation, how it cleared and eased the mind. He incorporated it into his battling as well, using it as a form of meditation for his Pokemon. Cosmo smiled at that thought. He looked down at Monk as he thought back to their younger days. At the time Monk was a simple Slowpoke that Cosmo had an affection for. He always had thought that Slowpoke were smarter than they had initially appeared to be. He liked them so much that he picked one as his partner.

Once Cosmo had learned how to turn Monk into a Slowking, things only got better from there. Along the way Monk had learned how to speak in human tongue and was soon holding conversations with Cosmo on an almost daily basis. Cosmo was touched that his lifelong Pokemon partner had taken the time to learn how to speak in his language.

“I think we’re almost there,” Monk said, snapping Cosmo out of his thoughts. He noticed the Slowking pointing towards a building in the distance.

“Yeaaaaa, I’m guessing’ that’s it too, maaan.” If the gym sign on top of it was any indicator at least. Cosmo briefly wondered why a gym leader would set up shop out in the middle of nowheresville. HE set those thoughts aside though, not really caring one way or another. HE was here for a battle and a badge, nothing more to it really. Cosmo and monk slowly made their way to the front doors, which opened with a hiss when they approached. The reception area was empty when they entered. Cosmo took a brief look around when he saw a door off to the side, most likely leading to the battle area.

Cosmo opened the door and walked inside, his partner trailing behind him. HE took a quick look around the room, taking in the bleachers on the sides that all gyms seemed to have for some reason. The terrain was rocky, which made sense seeing as the Pokemon here were recreated from fossils. HE also noticed it was quite a big battle field than normal. “Thiiiis looks bigger than usual,” he remarked aloud.

“That’s because the some of the Pokemon here grow pretty big,” a voice said from the other side of the room. Cosmo looked around before he spotted the tall black man walking towards him. “It also gives challengers a bit more to work with than most other gyms.” He man reached out a hand for Cosmo to shake. “Name’s Richard, one of the caretakers of the Pokemon here.”

Cosmo smiled at the man and gave the man’s hand a good shake. “Name’s Cosmo maaan. I’m here for a gym battle.” Richard nodded his head.

“Well then I’ll have to go and get him then,”” Richard said, pointing towards the challengers spot. “If you want to, you can wait there till he gets here, alright?” Cosmo held up a peace sign to show his understanding. Richard simply smiled as he turned and headed towards the back to get the Gym leader.

Richard found Jack with Anna in the training room putting away a few things. “Jack, you got a challenger waiting for you.”

“Huh?” Jack looked over at Richard tiredly. “Like right now?” Richard raised an eyebrow at that.

“Yes, like right now,” Richard said, copying Jacks tone. “He’s a bit goofy though, definenlty a more colorful character than usual. Might be fun to go and see.” Jack nodded his head.

“Yea, okay,” he said unenthusiastically as he left the room in a slump.

“What’s up with him,” Richard asked as he turned to his wife. Anna followed Jack out the door as she answered.

“Tank’s been acting weird these past two weeks. He hasn’t spoken to Jack and he’s practically living in the tunnels.” Anna Picked up Tortuga and followed Jack out the door.

“Two weeks,” Richard mulled to himself. He distinctly remembered Tank getting a phone call two weeks ago. Could that be what all the fuss was about?

When Jack had spotted the man, he knew Richard wasn’t kidding when he said he was more colorful. The guy looked like he had a rainbow threw up a rainbow on him. Currently the new challenger was looking around the field in the middle of the room with a Slowking by his side. Jack forced on a smile as the man saw the group and started to walk towards them. HE held out a hand for Jack to take, which he did albeit reluctantly.

“Name’s Cosmo, maaaan. You must be the Gym Leader, riiiight?” Jack raised a brow at Cosmos weird speech pattern.

“Right,” Jack replied a moment later. “My name is Jack, and I’m the leader of the fossil Gym here. Richard told me you wanted a gym battle, correct?”

Cosmo nodded. “Yep, if I win here, then it’ll be my sixth badge.” Jack nodded, already having his team in mind.

“Right so then you have five badges.” Cosmo nodded. “Okay then. Go ahead and take your place on the challenger side, and we’ll get started.”

“Right oooon,” Cosmo said before heading over to the other side.

Jack turned to Richard. “Can I count on you to judge this battle for me? You know, since Tank isn’t here right now.” Richard simply nodded and took the referee spot as Jack to his Pokemon team ready. Anna took Tortuga and sat on the sidelines.

“You’re going to witness your very first battle today,” Anna told the little Tortuga. “Maybe you’ll even see your father fight.” Tortuga gave a squeal of delight at that.

Once Jack had settled on which Pokemon he was going to use, he took his usual spot and nodded at Richard. The older man nodded back before he spoke up.

“Okay, today’s battle is between Cosmo, the new challenger and our Gym Leader, Jack. The rules are standard. It will be a three on three single battle. While the challenger may switch his Pokemon out at any given time, the gym leader must keep his current Pokemon in battle until it is defeated. The way to win is to knock out all three of the opponents Pokemon.”

Richard looked between both men. “Are both challengers ready?” Cosmo and Jack nodded their heads. “Then send out your Pokemon.”

Jack threw out his Pokemon first. “Let’s get it started, Lily!” A bright flash of light later, a Cradily had taken her spot on the battle field.

Cosmo sent his out next. “Shaw em what you’re made of Kettle!” Another brief flash of light took place to reveal a Torkoal as she billowed out smoke from her shell and nostrils. Jack sighed internally, knowing this was going to be a difficult fight.

“Begin,” Richard called out once he figured both were ready.

Cosmo was quick to make the first move. “Kettle, start off with, like, smokescreen.” 0

Jack raised an eyebrow, but watched as the Torkoal shot off a smokescreen from her mouth at Lily, covering her immediate area in smoke. Fr the most part, Jack nor Lily could see anything in front of them. ‘Just what is he doing?’ Jack thought to himself. HE decided to take initiative and act before the colorful man could make a move.

“Lily, dig your way under the smokescreen.” Lily did as she was told, digging her way under the ground and popping back up after she had made it out of the vicinity of the smoke. Jack didn’t realize his folly until it was too late.

“Flamethrower Kettle,” Cosmo called out. Jack watched as the smoke dissipated and Kettle let out a line of fire from her mouth. Jack didn’t have Time to tell Lily to dig again, and watched as the attack hit her dead on. A sharp cry of pain was heard from Lily as she burned for a moment before the fire ceased.

Luckily she wasn’t knocked out on the spot. Jack had the part rock type to thank for that. Jack decided now it was time to launch his counter assault. “Lily, use Ancient Power.” Lily’s eyes started to glow a bright blue as she gather up the rocks around her and hurled them towards the opposing Pokemon.

“Use, like, Iron Defense maan,” Cosmo called out. Kettle immediately withdrew into her shell as it started to take on a sheen like metal. The rocks simply bounced off the shell, dealing a minimal amount of damage. “Now use Flame Wheel!” The shell Kettle was in started to spin as flames spurted from the shell. Then it took off, spinning rapidly into the direction of Lily. Jack had yelled at her to use dig, but Lily could barely move due to the last attack. Kettle hit Lily, and the attack sent her head reeling back. Once her head hit the ground, Lily was knocked out cold.

“Lily is unable to battle,” Richard called out with a raised hand. “This round goes to Cosmo.” Jack returned Lily to her poke ball and let out a deep sigh. He felt like he wasn’t even in the right place at the moment. He kept thinking about Tank and what was going on with him. Jack looked across the room at his challenger, who was giving him an odd look.

Jack shook his head lightly. He needed to put those thoughts aside for now. He reached for his next poke ball, already knowing who he was sending out next. “You’re up next, Shelldon!” Jack threw the ball into the air, and Shelldon popped out, letting out a growl.

Cosmo thought for a moment before he made a decision. “Come back, Kettle,” he said, returning the Torkoal back to the Poke ball. He reached behind him and selected another Pokemon. “Come on out, Jerry.” The ball popped open and a Parasect stood in front of Cosmo. “Alright maaan, I know I haven’t, like, used you in a while. Now though, it’s your time to shine.”

Jack watched as the Parasect lifted its claws in what Jack guessed was confirmation. As the Pokemon made its way onto the battle field, Jack had to wonder what kind of name ‘Jerry’ was for a Pokemon. He put it to the back of his mind though, because the battle was about to start.

“Are both battlers ready?” Richard asked. Both trainers nodded their heads. “Then Begin!”

Jack was the first to take initiative this time. “Shelldon, use Shell Smash.” Shelldon did as Jack commanded, smashing a layer of his shell to make him faster. Cosmo watched in anticipation, wondering what was going to happen next. “Now, use Low Kick!” Shelldon was quick to put it into motion. He dashed in front of Jerry, crouching low to kick the Parasect off of his feet.

What Jack didn’t expect was for the small bug Pokemon to leap up and avoid the attack. Shelldon was just as shocked to see Jerry avoid the attack completely.

“Cross poison, Jerry!” The Parasect crossed both of his claws together as they started to glow a faint purple color.

“Move,” Jack called out, forcing Shelldon out of his stupor long enough to avoid the attack. Jack looked on in shock as the attack made contact with the ground. There was an x shaped mark in the ground where Shelldon had been previously. If that had made contact with Shelldon, it would have done some serious damage, Jack thought to himself. Especially with since Shelldon used Shell Smash at the beginning of the battle. While it does increase the users speed and attack, it also lowers their defense.

“This guy doesn’t play around,” Jack muttered to himself. Still though, he could turn this battle in his favor. Parasect weren’t all too speedy to begin with. “Stone Edge,” Jack called out. Shelldon was quick to respond, send a hail of stones aimed at Jerry.

Jerry however was quick to jump t0o the side to avoid th3e attack. Jack watched on as Jerry kept dodging Sheldon’s attacks each and every time. ‘Guess we’ll have to go in close for this one,’ Jack thought. “Shelldon, use Rock Smash to get in close then switch to Low kick!” Shelldon withdrew into his shell and let out a stream of water from the back hole and shot forward.

Cosmo waited till he figured Shelldon was close enough before he called out a counter attack. “Aromatherapy, Jerry!” Jerry let out a stream of pink mist that covered a large area of the battlefield. When Shelldon came into contact with the mist, his attack faltered and he crashed into the ground. He came out of his shell, looking relaxed and with a small blues running across his face. “Now Leech seed!” Jerry shot off a few seeds from its mushroom. Cone they fell on Shelldon, he was immediately wrapped in vines from the seeds, his energy being drained little by little. Shelldon couldn’t move from his position from the floor, losing his mobility quickly due to having his energy drained.

“Alright Jerry, Cross Poison one more time,” Cosmo called out. Jerry crossed his claws again, as they started glowing purple. Jerry charged forward with the attack, making contact with Sheldon’s abdomen. Shelldon was sent flying a few meters across the field. He was knocked out cold before he landed.

“Shelldon can no longer fight,” Richard called out yet again. “The winner of this round goes to Cosmo.” Jack returned Shelldon back into his poke ball. Whoever this guy was, he was the real deal. He may have looked goofy and lighthearted, but the guy knew what he was doing. Cosmo had called Jerry back just as Jack reached for his last Pokemon for the battle.

“I’m going down, there’s no doubt about that,” Jack told himself. “But I’ll be damned if I’m going down without a fight.” With determination coursing through him, he sent the final poke ball into the air. “Give em hell, Spike!” After a bright flash of light, an Armaldo stood on the battle field, ready to fight at a moment’s notice.

Cosmo thought for a moment before turning to his Slowking companion. “You up for a battle, Monk?” Monk looked back at his trainer and nodded. He then walked forward and took his spot on the field.

“Both trainers ready?” Jack and Cosmo nodded. “Alright, then begin!”

“Spike, X-scissor!” The Armaldo was quick to act as he charged forward with green glowing claws. Spike was practically on top of the Slowking, about to strike, when Monk suddenly bent backwards to avoid the attack completely. Jack was shocked, the guy wasn’t even using his hands to keep him up. Monk was balancing himself all on his own.

Jack snapped out of it when Cosmo called out a counter attach. “Water Pulse.” A large aquatic circled formed in front of Monk, who sent it surging towards Spike. It caused a greater amount of damage due to the fact that Spike was so close to Monk. Spike took a few steps back, reeling from the attack and not thoroughly prepared for the next one.

“Ice Beam!” Monk had gotten back upright in no time at all, and sent a ray of Ice towards Spike. Spike was unable to dodge it in time, and Jack knew I was curtains when it made contact. Spike was covered from head to toe in Ice, frozen solid from the attack and unable to fight. Richard raised up his hand.

“Spike is unable to battle, the winner of this battle Is Cosmo.” Cosmo smiled as Monk returned to him.

“That was an awful short battle,” Monk whispered to Cosmo.

“Yea, it was,” Cosmo whispered back as Jack made his way towards them. He had already returned Spike back to his Poke ball, and handed his Pokemon off to Anna and Richard.

“Congratulations, you managed to beat me,” aka, completely annihilate him, “which has earned you the Old Amber badge as well as being one step closer to the Pokemon League.” Jack reached into his pocket and pulled out the badge and handed it to Cosmo. “Now, if you’ll excuse me,   
I have some Pokemon that need tending to.” With that, Jack turned and headed towards the back door.

“How odd,” Monk said after the Jack had disappeared behind the door. “He seemed….fake when he spoke.”

“I agree,” Cosmo responded. “He seemed in a toootal funk while we were battling. Almost like he was barely there.” Cosmo looked thoughtful for a moment before shrugging his shoulders. “Ah well, it’s not like it’s our business anyway.” Monk looked worried, but nodded all the same and followed Cosmo out of the Gym.

* * *

 

Tank sighed as he walked along the trail leading back to the main route. He had decided to leave without telling anyone where he was going. In truth, he just wanted to be back home in bed, curled up in a blanket. He had been at odds with himself ever since he got that call. He felt like an ass for not telling Jack at least what was going on.

He stopped in the middle of the trail and looked up at the blue sky. He thought about the past two weeks, about what he was going to do next. He had been thinking about to since he arrived this morning and started his usual work on the mines. Working there usually took his mind off things, but this time it wasn’t working. This time his work felt suffocating, and he just needed to get out of there. He felt sick to his stomach, he felt suffocated, but most of all, he felt lost.

Tank didn’t realize he had been standing in the same spot for a while until he felt a tap on his shoulder. He jumped before turning around and seeing….. Honestly he wasn’t quite sure what he was seeing. The man looked like a rainbow and a unicorn had a one night stand and the result was standing right in front of Tank. Tank cleared his throat, trying to get himself back into what looked like working order.

“Uh, like, are you okay maaan,” The guy asked, sounding stoned out of his mind. Or maybe he was one of those stereotypical Hippies that preached peace and love and what not. Tank shook his head.

“I’m, uh, I’m fine,” he said unconvincingly. The colorful guy simply raised an eyebrow at that.

“Riiiight,” he replied. “That’s why you’ve been standing in the same spot for ten minutes looking up at the sky.”

“You’ve been watching me for ten minutes,” Tank asked. The man simply shrugged his shoulders.

“You happen to work at the gym back there,” the hippy asked, pointing back in the direction of the gym.

Tank nodded his head. “How did you figure that out?”

“Simple, besides me, you’re the only other person on the trail walking away from the gym. Plus I would have run into you if you were here for a challenge.”

Tank’s eyebrow raised at the astute deduction. This guy was smarter than he looked. “Would you mind answering a question for me,” the hippy asked.

“Uh, okay, sure,” Tank said.

“So the gym leader, he seemed like something was wrong with him when I went in for a challenge.”

“Oh?” Tank started to worry. Was there something wrong with Jack?

“Yea, he seemed like something was, like, bothering him or something’. During our battle, he wasn’t, like, very focused. Tooootaly out of it maaan.” Tank scratched his head and sighed. More than likely Jack was worried about him.

“Yeah, that uh might be my fault,” Tank said after a beat.

“Oh?” The man looked at Tank questioningly.

“Yea, I haven’t been the most….. social I guess.” Yea, he was practically a ghost both at work and at home. Tank pinched the bridge of his nose, realizing just how much of an ass he’s been the past two weeks.

“You two get in a fight or something?” Tank shook his head.

“No, nothing like that,” he replied. “I just… I’ve had a rough couple of weeks.”

“So, lemme guess: You’ve been avoiding him for the past couple of weeks, and now you’re both down in the dumps.” Tank lowered his head.

“Yea, that about sums it up, I guess.” God he’s been such an ass.

“Dude, Just like go talk to him about it,” the hippy said. Tank looked back up at the man. “It’s kinda obvious he’s worried about you, and it’s affecting not only him but his duties as a gym leader. He had some strong Pokemon he used against me, and he lost in, like, no time at all. He was barely focused on the battle at all.”

Tank bit his lower lip and looked back down. HE didn’t want to admit it, but the guy was right. He had been ignoring Jack and it was affecting him. If things kept up like this, the gym would be closed down. It didn’t take Tank too long to figure out what he needed to do. He looked back up at the man before him.

“What’s your name,” Tank asked.

“Cosmo.” Of course.

“Well, Thanks Cosmo. I know what I have to do now thanks to you.” Tank took Cosmos hand and gave it a hard shake. “I owe you one.” Cosmo waved his hand.

“Don’t mention it, maaan,” Cosmo replied. Tank nodded his head and jogged off back in the direction of the Gym. Cosmo watched Tank till he disappeared along the trail.

“Do you think they’ll be alright,” Monk asked from beside his trainer. Cosmo looked down at his partner and shrugged.

“I think that’ll be up to them,” He replied before continuing on the trail back to the main route.

* * *

 

Tank ran into the reception room, looking around before he spotted Richard sitting in Tanks usual seat, a surprised look on his face. “Where’s Jack,” he asked as he walked towards the desk.

Uh,” Richard started dumbly before pointing towards the door to the battle area. “He’s in there with Arrow.” Tank nodded before walking through the door. It didn’t take him too long to spot Jack. The shorter man was standing in the middle of the floor with his back to Tank. Jack was petting Arrows head as he relayed his woes upon his partner Pokemon.

“I mean, I just don’t get why he won’t talk to me,” Jack said. “I mean, usually if I screw something up, he’ll be all over me. He’s never just ignored me before.” Arrow gave a sad chirp at his friend’s tale. Arrow looked up when he heard someone walking towards them and spotted Tank. Jack turned to see what had caught his friend’s attention and was surprised when he saw his boyfriend standing a few feet from him. The older man had his head hung as he wrung his hands together.

“Hey,” Tank said after a moment of silence.

“Hey,” Jack replied dumbly.

“Can we, uh, talk,” Tank asked with sad eyes. Jack simply nodded and turned toward his boyfriend fully. Tank looked up at Arrow, expecting him to take a hint and leave them alone for the moment. Apparently that would not be the case today. “Alone, please,” Tank said looking at the Aerodactyl.

Arrow looked between the two men before he nodded his head and took off to sit on one of the rafters. “Yea, thanks,” Tank sighed. He turned back to Jack to see him waiting patiently.

“So are we going to talk about how you’ve been avoiding me,” Jack asked with a raised brow. Tank nodded, taking a moment to compose himself before he started explaining.

“Two weeks ago I got a phone call from a friend from my old University in Kalos. She had said that one of my old professors had died, Professor Oxford.” Jacks eyes widened at the revelation, but he didn’t say anything. “IF you recall, Oxford helped me to get into the whole fossil business. Before I had met him, I didn’t even know what I wanted to do after my Journey was over. He was a dear friend and respected college of mine. I was shocked to hear that he had died.”

Jack put a comforting arm on Tanks arm. “How did it happen?”

“From what my friend told me, he passed in his sleep. These last few years, his health had been declining. The doctors said he wouldn’t last much longer.”

“Did you not want to talk to me about this,” Jack asked, and Tank nodded. “Why?”

“I… I didn’t want to burden you with my problems.” There was an immediate pain in his arm. It took him a minute to process that Jack had actually punched him

“That is such bullshit,” Jack said with repressed fury. Tanks eyes widened in surprise. “We were friends for a long time before we got together. We never kept anything from each other. When we finally did get together, I wanted you to promise we would still be honest with each other.”

Tank closed his eyes and lowered his head in shame. He remembered when he had promised that to Jack. It was a few Christmases ago. It almost seemed like a lifetime. But he had broken that promise, and Jack was standing there berating him. So it was a shock when he felt a comforting hand on his arm, and looked up into Jacks bright green eyes.

“We’re a couple now,” Jack continued in a soft voice. “We share everything, good and bad.” Tank nodded his head as tears filled his eyes. Jack pulled him down into a tight hug, letting Tank sob into his shoulder. They stood there for a few minutes till Tanks sobbing had ceased and he stood up straight.

“Did they already have a funeral,” Jack asked once he saw Tank was composed enough. Tank nodded his head. “Alright then,” Jack said and nodded. “Let’s make plans to go and visit his grave sometime soon then.”

“Are you sure,” Tank asked hesitantly. Jack simply waved his hand.

“Meh, it’s not like this place is going anywhere. We’ll call up our folks and let them know we’re visiting for about a week. You’ll call up your friend and ask her to take us to where he was buried.” Tank smiled down at his boyfriend before leaning down to kiss him. It was gentle and conveyed all of his feelings. When they parted, both men smiled at each other. However Jack wasn’t done speaking his mind just yet.

He grabbed Tank by the collar of his shirt before he could get away. “Don’t think you’re getting off the hook just yet though.” Tank looked down at him with a confused expression. “You need a proper punishment for making me worry these past two weeks you know.”

Tank sighed, but he knew he would have to make it up to Jack somehow. “Alright, what do you want me to do?”

Jack thought on it for a moment, a gleeful smile growing on his face once he thought of the perfect punishment. “For the rest of this month as well as all of next month, you have to cook dinner for us.”

“Don’t you think that’s a bit harsh,” Tank asked. Jack simply stood there with a raised brow, until Tank hung his head and realized he wasn’t getting out of it. “Alright fair enough,” he said, scratching the back of his head. With that, Jack gave him a bright smile, before pulling him down into another kiss. “So we’re good?”

“Yeah we’re good.” A small cooing sound could be heard from above them. Tank simply flipped the bird at Arrow, making the flying type chuckle in response.


	4. Tank takes a challenger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack is away with his sister at a Halloween festival, so Tank takes a challenger in his place.  
> Challenger belongs to Black Falcon of Fanfiction.net

October is the time of year where the trees are barren of leaves and foliage. The same is said for the hidden route leading to the Fossil Gym. As it was nearing the spookiest time of the year, little ornaments hung from the trees; cutouts of ghost-types like Ghastly and Pumpkaboo, within range and black streamers lining most of the tree limbs only to dangle off of them. Tank walked along the path, smiling at how well Anna and Rouge did at decorating. It took them a few nights to put them up, but it was well worth the effort. It gave the path a somewhat eerie feel to it, especially at night time. It creeped him out a few times when he walked back home at night.

The path ended as per usual, though Anna had put up a Gengar Stand up board that lit up and let out a horrendous laugh every time someone passed it. Tank laughed it off as he entered the Gym. The front doors also had little cutouts of ghost-types stuck to it, Richards doing this time around. The Inside was no less decorated than the trail outside.  Streamers hung from the ceiling and along the trim of the roof, as well as more cutouts. It must have taken Rouge some time to finish the two main parts of the gym. Tank also noticed a carved pumpkin that wasn’t there last night, which meant the older couple had brought it in this morning.

Tank wasn’t into Halloween all that much, but Jack, Anna, and Richard couldn’t get enough of it. They all went out of their way just to decorate the place and even plan a party for those interested enough to come. Jack even made Tank a costume of his own for the occasion. Tank couldn’t say no to his shorter counterpart, even if he had lost the appetite for the season some time ago.

Anna and Richard were in the battle Arena, watching what appeared to be a spar between Shelldon and Cutty, the mother Kabutops. Tank walked up to the couple as the Pokemon traded blow after blow. “What’s got them so fired up,” he asked, once Richard took notice of him.

“It’s their usual rivalry going on,” Richard explained. “They were going at it in front of the little ones, so we decided to let them lash it out in here instead.”

Tank nodded his head before asking, “And the little ones?”

“Playing in the tank,” Anna answered. “It’s odd how the children of these two can get along, yet they seem to have this bitter rivalry going on.” Tank couldn’t help but agree. He looked back over to the Pokemon, the scene before him laughable Shelldon had Cutty in a headlock, fin moving in a motion across her head that was oddly similar to a noogie. Cutty had one arm wrapped around Shelldon’s back while she used the blunt end of her other claw to deliver light blows to Shelldon’s stomach.

Tank sighed; at this rate, their petty feud would go on forever. Tank clapped his hands harshly as he walked over to them. “Alright you two, break it up,” Tank said. The Pokemon detached from each other as Tank got closer. Once Tank was between them, he turned to Shelldon. “You go back to the back and take a breather. I’m gonna be using Cutty here for the battle today.” Cutty stuck out her tongue at Shelldon, which made his eye twitch in irritation as he turned and walked towards the back door. Anna decided to escort Shelldon to the back, just to make sure he didn’t do anything stupid. Tank turned back to Cutty once the two were gone.

“Alright, I don’t know how this whole rivalry thing started, but you two seriously need to end it.” Cutty rubbed one of her claws on the back of her head. “Seriously though, you two have been going at each other’s throats since Arceus only knows when. But now you’re both part of the same team.” Cutty looked down at her feet in shame. “It’s not only that though,” Tank continued. “You both have kids now, kids who like to play together. You both have to think how your fighting is going to affect them.” Cutty looked sadly into her trainers eyes before nodding. “Alright then.” Tank raised Cutty’s Poke ball. “Go ahead and take your own breather.” Tank returned Cutty to her poke ball and set it along his belt.

“That was some pretty good advice you gave her,” Richard said, having seen the whole exchange. “I’m guessing it’s from personal experience?”

Tank shrugged his shoulders. “I guess you could say that.” Tank could remember that his parents did fight a lot as he was growing up. It was usually about petty things, but they’d really get into it when it came to Tank’s future. Eventually they ended things and Tank lived with his mother after that.

“Well, I’m no brown noser, so you don’t have to tell me any specifics,” Richard replied. Tank smiled, glad that Richard was the type of person to know when to let things be. “Anyway, did Jack make it to that festival thingy?”

“Yea, he called last night before turning in for the night,” tank said. “And it’s called the Halloween Festival.” About a week ago, Jack had learned of the festival and that there would be a ghost-type only contest going on. The winner would receive a shiny Pumpkaboo as the main prize. Jack was interested in it, but realized he couldn’t go due to his responsibilities at the Gym. Then Jack’s sister called him to say she would be at the festival and would be competing in the contest. Jack practically begged Tank to let him go and see his sister in action. Tank had agreed to it, via Jack’s puppy-dog eyes.

“Well whatever it is, I hope he’s having fun,” Richard said. “I’m gonna go ahead and get started on the regular duties. Call me if you need anything, alright?” Tank nodded his head in confirmation, and Richard turned and walked to the back. Tank sighed once Richard was out of sight. It was going to be a long day for him.

* * *

 

Damien Santos was annoyed beyond belief. Not only did it take him an hour to find the trail to this gym, but the people were completely rude about it. “Idiots, the lot of them,” he told himself. “”Not like the people of this region are better than me. Back water people is what they are, on their back water region.”

Damien Santos, A fifteen year old hailing from the Sinnoh Region to compete in the Hoenn Pokemon League. Standing an even 6 feet tall, he poses an impressive figure. His dark hair is combed to the side, as the silver highlights sparkle in the rays of the dimming sun. He wore a black jacket that was opened to reveal a silver V-neck t-shirt with a smiling skull on it. He looked down the dirt trail, noticing he was getting dirt on his dark grey pants and black Adidas.

“Aw, man, gimme a break already I just washed these,” he mumbled. He pinched the bridge of his nose, having to raise his sunglasses from his face. His silver eyes opened to look angrily along the trail. “Honestly, what Neanderthal places a gym so out of the way,” he grumbled as he continued his trek. The gym came into view not too long after. “Ugh finally.”

As he was about to step off the trail, something caught his eye on his right. He was caught off guard as the supposed Gengar he had seen let out a terrifying laugh. He fell in fear on his butt, as he trembled in front of the supposed ghost type. Only when the laughing stopped did Damien finally assess the situation. The Gengar in front of him was nothing more than a cardboard cut-out. This sent Damien’s temper flaring. He immediately got back on his feet and proceeded to kick the cut-out to the ground.

Damien was caught off guard yet again when someone cleared their throat. Damien looked to the front of the gym to notice an older man had walked outside. “Do you normally damage other people’s property,” the man asked with a raised brow.

“Depends, is this thing normally placed here to scare the crap out of anyone who walks by,” Damien countered angrily. He didn’t have much more patience for this insect and his irritating questions. The man walked over and picked the cut-out off the ground.

“Tch, you damaged it,” the man sighed. “Anna isn’t gonna be too happy about this.”

Damien scoffed. “I could honestly care less.” The older man glared at Damien.

“I suppose you’re here for a reason other than making insults,” the man asked harshly.

“Yes, I’ve come to challenge this…..” Damien looked at the supposed Gym, not that it was much to look at, “gym to earn my sixth badge.”

The man nodded before motioning with his hand. “Follow me then,” the man said as he started walking towards the gym. Damien didn’t like it, but he followed suit. They walked through what looked like a reception area before going through another door and entering the Battle area. He noticed the rocky terrain and realized he had forgot to ask about the gyms Pokemon type.

“So I assume you train rock types here then,” Damien asked.

“Sort of,” the man replied. Damien thought about what that could mean. “We revive Pokemon from fossils and train them here.” Damien nodded his head.

“Right then, so where exactly is the gym leader then?”

The man turned around to face Damien. “Unfortunately he’s out for the moment, so I’ll be taking Challengers today in his stead.”

“Ah, I see then,” Damien replied. “So you’re just some crony then, huh?”

Tanks eye twitched. “I’m sorry, what was that?”

“You heard me,” Damien said, crossing his arms. “I don’t wanna battle some pushover, that’s just no fun at all.”

Tank was about ready to punch the arrogant brat. “Listen kid, the gym leader won’t be getting back till sometime tomorrow, okay? So either you can wait till tomorrow, or battle me now. What’s it going to be?”

Damien sighed. He wanted to battle the gym leader, not some cronies who wouldn’t even be a challenge. However, he was in a hurry and had to get back to the center before it closed for the night. He also didn’t want to backtrack all the way here the next day either. It seemed as though his decision was clear.

“Alright fine then, I would like to request a challenge for the gym badge,” Damien said, seeming repulsed by having to battle tank.

Tank simply rolled his eyes. “Fine then, go stand over in the challengers spot. I have to go and get someone real quick.” Damien did as he was asked and watched as Tank disappeared behind the door at the back. Barely two minutes had later the older man returned with an elderly Black man in what appeared to be breeder gear. “This is Richard, our referee for the match,” Tank said, motioning to the man beside him.

Richard gave a small wave to Damien, who simply raised an eyebrow. “You weren’t kidding huh,” Richard mumbled to Tank.

“Can we get this started already,” Damien all but demanded.

“First things first kid. What’s your name,” Tank asked.

“Damien Santos,” the young boy answered as he crossed his arms.

Tank nodded his head before taking his place on the other side of the arena.

Richard walked to his place as the referee and began to speak. “This will be an official Gym battle between Gym Leader Tank and Challenger Damien Santos. The rules are simple: a three vs three single battle. The way to win is to knock out all three of the opposing Pokemon. The challenger may choose to switch out Pokemon at any given time. Should the challenger win he will receive the Old Amber Badge. Competitors, send out your first Pokemon.”

“Go Cutty,” Tank called out as he threw the poke ball into the air. Cutty popped out, ready and raring to go.

“Let’s start off strong, Tsunami,” Damien said as he tossed his own poke ball into the air. An Empoleon Popped out, looking viciously at Cutty.

“This round will be between Cutty and Tsunami,” Richard called out. “Begin!”

“Tsunami, start off with Earthquake,” Damien said. The Empoleon raised its foot before smashing it to the ground, causing it to shake violently.

“Jump,” Tank called out. Cutty Jumped into the air before the tremors could reach her. “Aqua jet.” Cutty covered herself in water as she shot towards Tsunami. They collided, Tsunami being knocked back a few feet while Cutty regained her footing. “Now Metal Claw.”

Cutty’s claws suddenly took on a metal form as she started slashing at her opponent. Though it seemed to do little damage, Cutty didn’t let up her assault.

Tsunami couldn’t move due to the assault he was currently receiving, and Damien needed her of their tail and quick. “Use scald to get her off of you.” Tsunami let out some steam from its mouth, distracting Cutty long enough for the Empoleon to put some ground between them. “Now use Hydro pump!” Tsunami shot a Geyser of water at Cutty, who had been burned by the last attack.

“Counter it with Hydro Pump,” Tank called out. Cutty shot off her own Hydro Pump, having it come into contact with her Opponents, and setting off a large explosion.

Damien figured he could use the smoke it created to his advantage. “Tsunami, use Ice Beam, aim it wherever.” Tsunami shot off Ice Beam after Ice beam into the dust. On the other side, Cutty had just finished suffering from the burn that Tsunami had caused. None of the Ice Beams were even close to hitting her, But Tank didn’t wanna risk taking a wild hit. Plus Damien was freezing most of the gym.

“Cutty, Use Aqua jet to shoot through the dust.” Cutty nodded before covering herself in water and shooting through the dust, effectively scattering and clearing it. Tsunami and Damien had been revealed afterward, and Tank commenced his attack. “Metal Claw!” Cutty started her barrage of Metal Claw again, however, Tsunami had covered himself with his arms.

Damien grimaced, wondering how he was going to get out of her barrage this time. Damien suddenly had an Idea. “Tsunami, use your Ice Beam to cover the floor under her in ice.” Tsunami immediately took action, aiming his attack at the floor till the area where Cutty was standing was covered in Ice.

Cutty, having no clue what had just happened, suddenly found her feet slipping around. She tried to regain her balance, but slipped and fell to the ground on her back. Tsunami stood above her, mouth opened for another attack.

“Hydro Pump,” Damien called out.

“Roll,” Tank yelled. Cutty rolled out of the way of the attack, but the impact it had on the ground knocked her back a few feet. Cutty kneeled on one knee, bracing herself for another burn. A small flame ignited itself on her head before her entire body was engulfed in flames. It was over just as soon as it began, and Cutty looked worse for wear because of it. Though it did little damage due to her typing, Perhaps her little duel with Shelldon earlier took more out of her than Tank realized.

“Let’s end this,” Tank said. “Cutty get in close with Aqua Jet.” Cutty shot forward again, this time landing behind Tsunami, which neither him nor Damien were expecting. “Now Brick Break!” Her claw began to glow white before she smacked the blunt end of it across the back of Tsunamis head, effectively knocking him out.

Richard was about to call the match before Cutty was once again covered in flames and fell to the ground unconscious. “Uh, Both Pokemon are unable to battle. Please choose your next Pokemon.” Both trainers withdrew their Pokemon from the field before selecting their next poke balls.

“Let’s go, Bow,” Tank called out, as he threw his poke ball into the air. An Archeops popped out of the Poke ball as she stood in front of her trainer.

“A Flying type huh, okay let’s make it interesting. Go Raptor!” Damien threw his poke ball into the air, and out of it popped an Aerodactyl. “Let’s see who’s got the better flying type then.”

Tank raised a brow before Richard called out to begin the battle. “Raptor, Flamethrower,” Damien called out first.

“Bow, counter with dragon breath,” Tank reacted. Bow shot out a swirl of purple energy from her mouth. The two attacks exploded once they made contact, kicking up a larger swath of dust than Cutty and Tsunami created. Both Pokemon took to the sky to continue the battle.

“Raptor, get in close and use Dragon Claw,” Damien commanded. The Claws on Raptors wings began to grow and glow white.

Bow counter with Dragon Claw” Tank called out. Bows own claws began to glow white and grow. Once both Pokemon were in front of each other, it became a duel of claws. Both Pokemon swiped at and countered each other. After a couple minutes of this, Raptor managed to get a hit, which cause Bow to falter. Raptor took his chance as he hit Bow hard, causing her to put some distance between them.

“All right Raptor, use Dragon Claw again,” Damien called out. Raptor let his claws grow out again as he went in for another attack.

Tank, however, had other ideas. “Dodge it with Acrobatics.” Bow let Raptor get in close enough so that when he went in for a swipe. Bow casually fell backwards, twisting her body and flying behind the opponent. “Dragon Breath!” Bow let out another wave of purple colored energy that hit Raptors back. The Aerodactyl nearly lost his balance, but quickly regained it before he hit the ground.

“Enough playing around,” Damien commanded. “Raptor end this with an Aqua Tail!” Raptor went in for the kill, his tail gathering water as he slashed it in Bows direction. Bow couldn’t dodge the attack in time, and fell to the ground after the attack hit. She was instantly knocked out when she finally crashed to the ground.

“Bow is unable to battle, Raptor wins the round. Tank choose your final Pokemon.”  Tank withdrew Bow from the battle field and tossed his last poke ball in the air. A Blastoise popped out of the ball, standing tall before her opponents.

“You’re the last one I got Maria,” Tank announced. Maria nodded her head, taking a battle stance.

“Hmph, I thought you only fought with fossil Pokemon,” Damien asked haughtily.

“I’ve only ever trained two fossil Pokemon in my life,” Tank replied. “Maria here is my starter Pokemon when I first began my journey.”

“Well, that’s nice and all,” Damien said. “But either way, I’m going to win this. Raptor use Flamethrower!”

Tank simply smirked at the kid’s mistake. “Maria, counter with Water Pulse!” The Blastoise aimer her cannons before shooting out a sphere of water. The sphere cut through Raptors flamethrower before smacking him right in the face. The Aerodactyl managed to recover, but seemed disoriented.

“Snap out of it you moron and use Aqua Tail,” Damien commanded, either unknowing or simply ignoring Raptors condition. Water immediately gathered on the flying-types tail. However, instead of aiming the attack at Maria, it smack itself on the head. Raptor fell to the ground, knocked out.

“Raptor is unable to battle,” Richard called out. “The round goes to Maria. Damien choose your final Pokemon.”

Damien returned Raptor to his poke ball, wondering what had just happened. “Your Pokemon was confused,” Tank answered after seeing Damien’s expression. “Water Pulse has a chance to confuse the Pokemon that is hit by it. You would have known that, had you paid attention.”

Damien scoffed as he selected his last Pokemon. “Let’s see how you fare against my Strongest Pokemon. Finish this, Guardian!” Damien released his last Pokemon, a Lucario out onto the field.  “I refuse to lose to a back-up gym leader! Guardian, use Aura sphere!” The Lucario gathered energy into its hands until it took on a spherical shape, then launched it at Maria.

“Water Pulse,” Tank countered. Maria shot off another ball of water, having it collide with the sphere and explode on impact. Guardian used this chance to get in close to Maria and wait for Damien’s next command.

“Now use Close Combat,” Damien commanded. Both Tank and Maria were surprised to find that Guardian had somehow gotten in front of Maria. Guardian then began to pummel at Marias abdomen. Guardian took a few steps back after his barrage, only to find his attacks didn’t do anything. Damien growled at this point. “Again, again!” he cried, and Guardian went in for a second barrage attack. However, this time the attacks were weaker, and Guardian was more winded after the attack.

“Grab hold of him,” Tank commanded. Maria grabbed ahold of Guardians’ arm so that he wouldn’t escape. Tank then looked over at Damien. “That was a reckless move you know,” he began. “Using that move twice in a row weakened your Pokemon, and now you have to pay for it.” Damien looked on in horror as Tank went in for the finisher. “Maria, Skull Bash.”

Maria reared her head back, only to bring it down to collide with Guardians, effectively knocking him out.

“Guardian can no longer battle,” Richard called out. “The winner of the match is Tank.” Damien clenched his fists, silently returning Guardian to his Poke ball. He honestly had no words for what had just happened. He had it in the bag, or at least, he thought he did.

Damien’s thoughts were interrupted when he noticed Tank was walking up to him. “What, come to rub your win in my face?” he asked vehemently.

Tank sighed. “I wasn’t kidding when I said you were being reckless. If you even did have a plan, it fell through sometime during the match.”

Damien scoffed. “Ha! When you’re as great a trainer as I am-“

“And yet you lost to, what was it you called me? A crony?” Tanks words cut into the young trainer like a rusty knife. “Listen kid, you may have five badges right now, but if you even hope to make it into the league, your attitude needs to change.”

Damien’s rage had hit an all-time high at that comment. “I DON’T NEED ADVICE FROM SOME BACKWATER ISLAND HILLBILLY!” He screamed. “Just because you won means nothing. I will enter the Hoenn League and you’ll see just how superior of a trainer I am!” With that, he stomped out of the building.

“Kids got a bit of a temper on him,” Richard commented from Tanks side.

“A hell of a superiority complex too,” Tank added. “The brat does need to shift gears though. He might get the eight badges needed, but he won’t make it one round in the league.” Richard nodded his head in agreement before the both of them headed to the back of the gym.

* * *

 

Damien was fuming as he stepped out into the chilly evening air. The sun had set, giving the place an eerie vibe. He had forgotten about the cut-out of the Gengar, and it startled him yet again as he passed it by.

“Damned crony,” Damien muttered. He still couldn’t believe he had lost. It had dealt a huge blow to his pride as a Sinnoh trainer. He had lost to some backwater insect, a new low for him. As he continued to stare at the cut-out, the more he let his mind wander. That man had the audacity to tell him he was a shoddy trainer, and one who wouldn’t make it into the Hoenn League. That had made his blood boil the most.

I’ll show him,” Damien mumbled as his fists clenched. He reared his hand back, ready to lash out at the item in front of him. However, before his fist could make contact, another hand grabbed his wrist. Damien looked at who would dare lay a hand on him.

His blood froze as he starred into the eyes of a skeleton man. Anger had given way to fear, and for the briefest moment, Damien could not move. They stood there for a moment just staring at each other, before the skeleton man began to open his mouth.\

 "Wouldn’t do that if I were you,” the Skeleton man said. “You wouldn’t want to make Anna angry.” Damien screamed as all rational thought left his mind. He quickly yanked his arm out of the creatures grasp and fled down the trail, leaving the skeleton man in his wake.

Tank ran outside as fast as he could after he heard the screaming. As he looked around all he could see was a skeleton man rubbing the back of his head as he walked towards the gym. “Jack?” Tank called out. Jack looked up at the mention of his name and smiled lightly when he saw Tank.

“Hey, just got back from the festival,” Jack said nonchalantly. “Though I think I may have scarred a kid for life.”

“Was that what the screaming was about,” Tank asked as he tried to hold in his laughter.

“Yea, sorry if it startled you guys.” Jack gave his boyfriend a funny look as Tanks shoulders started to shake.

“Don’t—pffft! Don’t worry about it.” Tank couldn’t hold it back anymore as he bent down to his knees and laughed.


	5. Girl in the red hood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A special guest asks for a mega battle from Jack

With November came the cold winds, as well as the Hoenn nationals. This meant that Jacks duties as Gym leader would wind down for the time being, at least until the next season starts. Currently he was watching one of the preliminary rounds taking place from his couch. He recognized Cosmo going up against some snooty looking kid from Sinnoh. While the kid did have some powerful Pokemon, he didn’t seem to utilize them very well. Jack could see the odds were in the hippies favor. Jack watched as Cosmo completely dominated the kid with only his Slowking, making Jack smirk. He grabbed the remote and clicked the television off. He got up and made his way over to the kitchen to check on lunch. Tank was out doing some last minute errands, most likely checking on the newly revived Sheildon as well. With any luck, she would be able to come home with the researcher and they could get it ready for the next season.

Jack had decided on some soup and toast, simple and easy to make. The Sheildon’s food was ready and set to the side for when she got here. The doorbell rang as Jack stirred the concoction, raising a brow at who it might be. He wasn’t expecting any company, and neither was Tank as far as he knew. The doorbell rang a second time as he walked towards it.

“I’m coming,” he said, raising his voice so he could be heard. “Hold your damn horses.”  Whatever he was expecting when he opened the door though, it certainly wasn’t who was standing in front of him. She was a young girl, no more than sixteen most likely. Her short dark hair had red highlights on the bangs that hung loosely in front of her silver eyes. She had on a black dress with long sleeves and a red hem along the skirt. She wore black stockings with black combat boots on her feet. The most notable feature though was her red hood. The hood part covered her head from the wind as it made the cape flow behind her.

And in all honesty, Jack just could not help the sentence that came out of his mouth. “Sorry Red, but your Grandma isn’t here. Though I’d advise against going to her house as she might already be dead.” The girl rolled her eyes as she crossed her arms.

“I wish people would stop making that joke,” she mumbled before looking back at Jack. “You’re Jack Evergreen, right? The Fossil Gym Leader?” Jack looked confusedly at her before he realized what she might be after.

“Listen kid, if you’re here for a badge, the League has already started. You’ll have to wait till next season to challenge me.”

“Wait, what?” the girl asked as she raised her hands. “No, uh, that’s not why I’m here.” Jack gestured for her to continue. “My Uncle sent me here. He said you could help me with the problems I’m having with Mega Evolution.” That was when Jack noticed the Keystone on the clip that attached her cape together.

“And just who might your uncle be?” Jack quizzed. He was rather curious as to who he knew would send their niece to him for guidance.

“My Uncle Qrow,” the girl replied. Now there was a name he hadn’t heard in a while. Qrow was Jacks mentor who taught him all about Mega Evolution, as well as the side effects. He had taught Jack all he would ever need to know. He had mentioned having a couple of nieces before, as Jack tried to recall them.

“Then you must be Rosie,” Jack said as he held stepped aside to let her in. “Please, come in.”

“Actually, it’s Ruby,” the girl corrected Jack as she entered his home. “Ruby Rose.”

“Uh, Right,” Jack replied as he closed the door. “Do you want something to eat? I just finished making some soup.” Ruby’s eyes lit up at the mention of food.

“Yes please!” she said enthusiastically. “I haven’t had anything to eat since this morning. I’ve been traveling all day just to get here.”

Jack smiled as he led the way to the kitchen. He pulled out a bowl and spoon and poured some of the prepared soup into the bowl. “So this problem,” Jack started as he got Ruby to sit at the table and set the soup in front of her, “What exactly is it?”

Ruby ate a few mouthfuls of soup before answering Jacks question. “Well, my Houndoom, Zwei, gets tired really easily whenever he Mega evolves. After an especially rough battle, he just gets swamped after using it. But every time I take him to the Pokemon Center to have him checked, the Nurse says he’s in perfect health.”

Jack nodded his head while she spoke, already knowing what the problem was. “I’m guessing that Qrow has told you about the side effects of using the Mega stones?” Ruby nodded her head. “Your Houndoom is just experiencing one of them. How many times has he mega evolved now?”

“Only about five,” Ruby replied. “I didn’t want to overuse it too much because I thought it might be affecting Zwei’s health.”

“No, there won’t be anything wrong with Zwei now,” Jack said. “Pokemon get a burst of Power whenever they Mega Evolve. Depending on the Pokemon, the effects are different. For your Zwei, he easily tires after battles using Mega Evolution. My Aerodactyl had trouble flying for a while due to his form. It’s all just a matter of adjusting.”

Ruby sighed in content. “Thank Arceus,” she said. “I’m glad I don’t have to worry about it then. Zwei will be relieved too.” Jack smiled at Ruby’s relief. He watched her eat for a moment before an Idea came to mind.

“I have an Idea,” Jack said gaining Ruby’s attention. “Why don’t we have a mega battle?  Zwei against Arrow. It might also help Zwei adjust to Mega evolving.” Jack looked confusedly at Ruby, who looked down while nervously scratching her cheek.

“Yea, um about that,” Ruby started, nervously looking up at Jack. “I might have, sort of, uh lost Zwei.”

* * *

 

“Here you are Tank,” Nurse Joy said as she placed the newly revived Sheildon on the desk. “She’s happy and healthy and ready to go.”

Tank smiled back at the nurse as he picked up Sheildon and held her to his chest. “Thanks again for checking her to make sure she was okay.”

Nurse Joy simply waved her hand at the gratitude. “It’s what I do best. She seems a bit wary about everything though.”

“That’s fine,” Tank assured her. “Jack and I are gonna help her adjust to everything. Then hopefully we’ll be able to train her for the next season.” With a smile and a wave, Tank left the Pokemon Center and started his trek home. The Sheildon in his arms looked around nervously at her sudden new environment. “I know it’s all a bit hard to take in now,” Tank said attempting to soothe the nervous Pokemon, “but once you get used to everything, you’ll see it’s not so scary. Plus you’ll make a slew of new friends-“

Tank cut himself short when he noticed a Pokemon sniffing the ground. He quickly identified it as a Houndoom. The dog-like Pokemon kept sniffing the ground, looking around worriedly at his surroundings. As Tank got closer though, he noticed the Houndoom had a mega stone attached to a collar on his neck. It meant that he had a trainer that he was possibly looking for, and not having any luck.

Tank approached the Houndoom cautiously, stopping a few paces away before speaking up. “Hey there, boy. Did you and your trainer get separated?” The Houndoom stopped what he was doing to look up at Tank. They stood there for a moment as Houndoom seemed to assess if Tank was an immediate threat or not. After seeming satisfied, the hellhound tentatively walked over to the researcher.

Houndoom whined to confirm that Tank was in fact right about him being separated from his trainer. Tank knelt down to pet Houndoom on the head. “Poor guy,” Tank crooned. “Here, let me see if you have some form of I.D. on you.” It didn’t take Tank too long to find a name tag dangling below the stone on the collar. He adjusted it to where he could see it properly, noticing the name ‘Zwei’ when he could see it.

‘Must be his name,’ Tank thought to himself before turning the tag over for any additional information. Unfortunately there was none, but at least Zwei had a name. That would make it somewhat easier to find his trainer. Suddenly there was a loud grumbling sound, and Zwei whined in embarrassment as he lowered his head.

“So I’m guessing you’re hungry huh,” Tank chuckled as he patted Zwei’s head. “Alright then, how about we get you something to eat then? Then after lunch I’ll help you find your trainer.” Zwei barked happily as his tongue lolled out of his mouth. Sounds like a plan then, Tank smiled. “I don’t live too far from here, so you can just follow me. Okay?” Zwei let out another happy bark and followed close behind Tank.

* * *

 

“So just to clarify, you lost track of your Pokemon shortly after showing up in town, then spent most of the morning searching for him,” Jack asked after Ruby ended her recollection of earlier today.

Ruby nodded. “Yea, that’s pretty much the jist of it.” She rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment. “I tried asking around, but nobody had seen him. I checked in with the authorities too and they said they would call me if they found him.” With a sigh, the young girl slumped in her seat.

Jack got up from his seat and reached for his cell phone. “I’ll call Tank and tell him to keep an eye out for him.” Just as he was about to dial his boyfriends number, he heard the front door open then shut.

“I’m back,” Tank’s voice carried from the front door. “And we have guests.” Jack scrunched up his brow at ‘guests’.

“Like plural,” Jack asked as he rounded the corner to meet his taller half. “Like more than one?” Tank walked up with Sheildon in his arms, which was taking in the new scenery.

“Yes, more than one,” Tank replied and looked down to his side. Jack followed his line of sight and saw the Houndoom. Jack immediately noticed the collar and looked back at Tank.

“Uh, where exactly did you find him,” Jack asked.

“It was kinda by pure chance,” Tank replied. However, before he could continue Ruby chose that time to pop her head around the corner. She took one look at the hellhound and squealed in delight. She ran around Jack before falling to her knees and taking the Houndoom in her arms.

“Oh my Arceus, Zwei! I thought I had lost you!” Zwei barked happily and nuzzled the side of his trainers face. “You had me worried, don’t ever run off like that again, okay?” Zwei nodded his head as his tongue lolled out in happiness.

“Anyway,” Tank said, gaining back everyone’s attention. “I found him nearby sniffing along the ground. It seemed like he was looking for you missy,” Tank said as he pointed a finger at Ruby. Just then a loud rumbling sound tore its way through the room. “I also promised him some food once we got here.”

Jack nodded. “I’ll go prepare him something to eat then. Can’t have him battling on an empty stomach. Meanwhile, you and the little one go and grab your lunch. Sheildon’s should be in the fridge in the green bowl.” Tank went to do just that, Ruby and Zwei following close behind.

Jack quickly whipped up something for the hungry Zwei and set it in front of him on the floor. The hellhound barked his thanks as he immediately dug in. Ruby sat at the table, across from Sheildon and Tank.

“I don’t think I’ve introduced myself yet,” Ruby said as Jack sat down with his own meal. “I’m Ruby, Zwei’s trainer.”

“I’m Tank,” the older man replied. “I help out at the gym and do research on the fossils.” Tank ate a couple of spoonfuls before asking his next question. “So what brings you here today? Other than the obvious Search and Rescue.”

“She came by to ask about some side effects regarding Mega Evolution,” Jack answered before taking a spoonful of his own soup.

“Nothing to serious I hope,” Tank asked with a worried expression. Jack waved his hand.

“No, no, Zwei just kept getting tired after using the Mega Stone,” Jack said. Tank sighed with relief and piut a hand on his chest. “However, I’m hoping our battle later will help him settle into his newfound power.”

“Is that so,” Tank asked as he looked over at Ruby. The girl simply nodded her head. “Well I hope things go well for you then.”

“Yea, me too,” Ruby replied solemnly.

After everyone had finished eating, Jack led Ruby to the back yard. It was just a big enough space for their battle to take place. Jack reached into his pocket to retrieve Arrows Poke ball. Jack threw it in the air, and the usual bright white light flew out of it. The light soon too on a giant shape and Arrow was revealed as he stretched his wings.

“Ruby, Zwei, this is my partner Arrow,” Jack said as he gestured to the prehistoric Pokemon. “Arrow, this is Ruby and Zwei.” Jack gestured to the young girl and her Houndoom, which Arrow waved at with one of his wings. Ruby waved back, a bit nervous about the size of the Pokemon. “We’re going to have a Mega Battle with them so that Zwei can get used to his Mega evolved state.” Arrows eyes instantly lit up and he chirped his excitement. It had been a while since they last had a Mega Battle.

Jack laughed and turned his attention back to Ruby. “Let’s have a nice clean fight, alright,” he asked as he held out his hand.

“Sure thing,” Ruby replied as she shook Jacks hand. Both trainers took a spot in the yard to battle from and watch their Pokemon.

“Ready whenever you are,” Jack called out once he was settled. Ruby gave him a thumbs up to show she was ready. Jack reached for his necklace and tapped the key stone, while Ruby placed a hand over her own Keystone. Both Pokemon were then engulfed in cocoons of light.

Arrow was the first to be released. He let out a roar as he flapped his wings to stay above the ground. Sharp rocks had lined his wings as well as his claws. Two more rocks jutted out from his head as another formed on his chin. One more rock was placed in the middle of his back as smaller ones lined his tail.

Zwei broke out of his cocoon next, letting out his own battle cry. His horns curved upwards instead of backwards now and bone cuffs were attached to his front legs as well as his tail, which was now dual pointed. A bone collar of sorts was attached to his neck and chest and had tusks protruding from the sides of it. Both Pokemon stared each other down, ready to pounce on one another when their trainers gave their say so.

“Let’s say first one to be knocked out of their Mega Evolved form loses,” Jack queried.

“Fine by me,” Ruby replied. “Zwei lets start things off with a Flamethrower!”

“Block it,” Jack countered. Arrow brought both wings in front of him and block the Flamethrower. Ruby scrunched her brows when she noticed the attack didn’t have much of an effect.

‘Must be the rock typing,’ she thought to herself. “Guess I need to switch tactics. Zwei Dark Pulse!” Zwei emitted a wave of dark energy outward.

“Take to the skies, Arrow,” Jack countered. Arrow flew into the sky, avoiding the attack. “Our turn now,” Jack said with a smirk. “Let’s start off with Dragon Claw!” The rocks on Arrows wings began to glow as he dove down for the attack.

“Dodge it,” Ruby commanded. Arrow, however, was too fast. Before Zwei could take the initiative, Arrow’s claw had made contact with him, sending him sprawling across the yard. Zwei was quick to land on his feet afterwards before howling upwards at the sky. The Sunlight suddenly became brighter, nearly blinding both Arrow and Jack.

“Sunny Day,” Jack muttered. “What’s she doing? Even with her Fire attacks boosted, they won’t have much of an effect.”

“Dark Pulse,” Ruby Called out. Jack was surprised when the wave Zwei emitted was much faster. Arrow didn’t have much time to dodge, and the attack sent him reeling.

“The hell,” Jack said. “What was that?”

“Solar Power,” Ruby replied. “Whenever the sun shines brightly, Zwei gets a boost of power.”

‘Crap,’ Jack thought. ‘I’m about to be in for it now.’

“Flamethrower,” Ruby called out. Zwei shot another burst of flames at Arrow.

“Dodge with Agility,” Jack countered. Arrow started to glow a purple color before using his enhanced speed to dodge the incoming attack. “Now Wing Attack!” Both of Arrows Wings began to glow as he charged his way towards Zwei.

Zwei was quick to dodge it, however, Jack noticed Zwei seemed tired already. Arrow hadn’t hit him that hard, and had only been able to land one attack. Something wasn’t right here. “Now use Inferno!”

Jack wasn’t quick enough to counter since he was paying more attention to Zwei’s declining health, So Arrow was hit full on by the fire move. Arrow was blanketed by small fireballs scorching his skin. Once the small barrage ended, Jack noticed a small flame on Arrows back.

“Crap, he’s burned,” Jack muttered. Even though Arrow was more than resistant to it, the last dark pulse had thrown him for a loop. Zwei though didn’t look too much better. “Alright Arrow, let’s end this. Take to the Skies and bring down Dragon Drill upon him!”

Arrow let out a roar as he shot into the sky. Once he figured he was high enough, his claws began to glow a bright white. With another roar, he made his decent towards Zwei. About part way through, he brought his wings above his head, claws aimed at his opponent, and began to spin till all he was a white blur.

“Try to throw him off with a Flamethrower,” Ruby commanded. Zwei shot off a blast of fire from his mouth, Arrow simply cut through the attack. Zwei tried to dodge it at the last second, but was caught by the attack. He was sent sprawling across the yard, glowing a bright white light as he was knocked out of his mega form. “Zwei,” Ruby shouted as she ran towards her partner. Zwei remained unmoving, even as Ruby picked his head up and placed it in her lap.

Arrow fell out of his mega form as well and looked concernedly at his opponent. “I wonder what happened,” Jack muttered as he watched Ruby and Zwei. “He was fine when we started. He seemed to lose strength though at a certain point.” Jack pulled out his cell and looked up the number for Anna. Perhaps she could give them some answers.

After a few rings, Anna picked up her phone. “Hello,” she answered.

“Hey Anna,” Jack replied. “Can you come over to my place real quick? I need your help with something.”

“What’s going on,” Anna asked, concern in her voice.

“I’ll fill you in when you get here. Nothing life threatening, but definite cause for concern.”

“I’ll be there in a few,” Anna said before hanging up the phone. Jack walked over to where Ruby and Zwei were.

 

“Let’s get him inside,” Jack told her. “I’ve got a friend coming over to look at him. Maybe she can help figure this out.”

Alright then,” Ruby replied as she returned Zwei to her poke ball.

Jack had returned Arrow to his poke ball as well before they went back inside. Ruby re-released Zwei so they could place him on the couch. All the while, Zwei didn’t move a muscle.

“Man he’s really out cold huh,” Jack queried. It did seem like that was the case. Zwei didn’t move or let out any noise. It almost seemed like he was in some deep sleep.

“Like I said, he’s like this after every battle,” Ruby said as she took a seat on one of the chairs. She and Jack sat mostly in silence before Anna arrived. She took in the situation as best she could. Jack had told her about their earlier battle and that sometime during the battle, he seemed to get tired.

“What was his special ability again,” Anna asked once everything was said. “Once Zwei mega evolves?”

“It’s an ability called Solar Power,” Ruby replied. “It boosts is users power in harsh sunlight.”

“That is true,” Anna commented, “But it also drains the user’s health as well.” Ruby’s eyes widened at that. “Tell me did you and Zwei use Sunny Day?”

“Uh yeah, like after the first few attacks, Zwei used it.” Anna nodded at that.

“And did you use it in any other battles where he was Mega evolved?”

“The last five yeah.” Suddenly it seemed like something clicked in the young girls head. “Wait, you’re telling me that the reason he’s so out of it is because of his ability?”

“That would seem to be the case,” Anna replied. “Perhaps in your next battle, don’t use Sunny Day and see what happens.”

Ruby nodded her head. “I’ll be sure to do that,” she replied. Just then, Zwei opened his eyes and blearily looked at his surroundings. “Zwei, you’re okay!” Ruby went and wrapped her arms around the Houndoom neck. The Houndoom let out a little whine, but did nothing to stop the girl.

“Take it easy for a while before you battle next,” Anna said with a small smile. “He’ll be tired for some time afterwards. Ruby nodded her head before she returned Zwei to his poke ball once more.

“I’ll stop by the Pokemon Center before I leave town,” Ruby said. She turned to Jack and Anna. “Thank you guys so much. I’ll make sure to call you guys if everything goes right after my next battle. All three of them got up and headed for the door.

“I’ll walk you to the Center,” Ana said to Ruby. “My home is just past it anyway.” Ruby nodded her head again.

“That would be nice actually,” Ruby said before she turned back to Jack. “And again, thank you. If I hadn’t come to you, I don’t think I would have ever figured this out on my own.”

“Ah, I’m sure you would have figured it out on you own sooner or later,” Jack replied a he rubbed her on the head. Ruby smacked his hand away and straightened her hair again. “You take care now, alright?”

“Will do,” Ruby said, holding up a thumb. “Let’s have another battle sometime when I’m stronger.”

“I think I’ll take you up on that offer,” Jack said. With one last goodbye Ruby turned and walked down the road with Anna in tow, both women talking animatedly. “I look forward to our next battle, Ruby Rose.”


	6. Christmas Cheer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This was the last chapter I had written for this story, and it is kinda bad.

Christmas meant a lot of different things to different people: for the kids, it’s all about the gifts, wondering what old saint nick had put under their tree this year; For adults, it meant spoiling their kids and meeting family they don’t get to see on a regular basis; for young couples, it was an excuse to be extra romantic for very different reasons. It was supposed to be a joyous time, full of cheer and merriment. However, for Theodore Russell, or ‘Tank’ as his boyfriend called him, it was going to be the most nerve wrecking moment of his life.

The Evergreen household was what one might call cozy. It was a place where you felt at ease almost instantly, and the hosts would make you feel as if you were right at home. But at this moment, Tank was anything but at ease. He was currently sitting across the room from the one person who would make or break his decision. Natasha Evergreen was a woman you never wanted to get mad. She was a beautiful Hispanic woman, even in her now late fifties. Back locks were pulled up in a ponytail as she reclined back in her seat, wearing grey sweat pants and sweater. Her ‘at home’ clothes as she fondly called them. Her eyes were a deep green color, something she shared with both of her her adopted children. Tank sometimes forgot they weren’t really related at all.

“Tank, are you alright,” Natasha asked, snapping Tank out of his little revere. “You seem nervous for some reason. Does it have something whit what you wanted to ask me?” Natasha looked curiously at the younger man before her. Natasha had taken to Tank as if he was her third child. Jack and Tank had been childhood friends since they were little, and it was like she had watched as her baby boy slowly fall in love. Natasha snapped herself from her own thoughts as she looked once again upon the man before him.

Tank was idly wringing his hands, nervous tick that the Evergreen clan had picked up on. Tank slowly took in a deep breath before finally managing to say something.

“Listen, Mrs. Evergreen-“

“Natasha,” the mother corrected with a playful smile. Still couldn’t break that habit of his after all these years.

“R-right,” Tank continued. “Anyway, I was hoping you could answer a question for me real quick.” It was a good thing that Jack and Jill were gone for a while, Tank’s nerves were set to high at the moment. Natasha looked at him critically for a moment before raising a brow.

“And just what is it you wish to ask me exactly,” she inquired. Tank opened and shut his mouth for a minute or so, trying to find the right words to say. After a moment of this though, he decided to rifle through his pocket instead and pull out a small velvet box.

Natasha put a hand over her heart. “My word Tank,” she started. “After all these years, I thought it was my son you were dating!” Tanks cheeks flared up, turning an interesting shade of pink.

“Y-You know what I’m going to ask here,” Tank stammered as Natasha smiled coyly.

“True, but I wish to hear it from you,” the Latina woman replied.

Tank sighed as he tried to calm himself down. “I… I want to ask for your blessing to marry your son.”

Natasha had to hold her hand over her mouth to hide the smirk that was forming. “Well, you know you already have it,” Natasha replied. “I’d be more than happy to see you two be wed.”

“I know,” tank replied. “It has more to do with… tradition I guess.” Natasha hummed in understanding.

“Have you talked with them lately?” Tank didn’t have to think about it to know that Natasha was referring to Tanks family. The same family that disowned him.

“They haven’t even bothered calling me first,” Tank said, leaning back and crossing his arms. “They walked out of my life willingly. If they don’t want to be a part of it, then that’s fine by me.” If it were anyone other than Jack, they would have missed the underlying tone. Natasha wasn’t so easily fooled though, she knew Tank missed his family.

“Well,” Natasha started, “You may have lost one family, but you simultaneously gained another.” Tank looked up at the older woman. “Besides, they’re the ones missing out, what with all of your accomplishments.”

It took a moment, but Tank did eventually smile. “Yea, you’re right,” Tank nodded. He had realized that he might never see his family again, but if they were that willing to disown him, then perhaps he was better off with the one he had now.

* * *

 

"Dammit all Blue, just stay still already,” Jack yelled as he tugged on the leash of Baby Blues harness.

“You know, you wouldn’t have this problem if you just let her stay with mom, or in her poke ball,” Jill retorted from behind him. Jill was his genetic twin sister, though many people doubt it still. Mainly, it was due to the fact that they both had varying skin tones.

While Jack came out white as can be with a crop of red hair, Jill was as black as the night with curly dark hair. Jill kept her hair short though, about shoulder length, and had the same forest green eyes that she shared with her twin. Due to the cold weather she currently wore a long pink jacket that concealed a long sleeved pink and frilly shirt accompanied by skinny black pants and topped off with black shoes with pink laces. In short, she was a huge fan of pink.

The twins were currently doing a little shopping for their mother for that night’s dinner. Jack was attempting to look through the various meats on display while Blue was running around and tugging the leash as far as she could go.

“Well how was I supposed to know the little shit would hitch a ride in my suitcase?” Jack asked. “I swear, she’s just too smart for her own good.”

“Or you’re just too dumb,” Jill deadpanned, though she couldn’t hide her smirk for too long.

“Whatever,” Jack said as he reeled in Blue by the leash. Once he had managed to reel her in, Jack picked up the prehistoric Pokemon. “Just help me find whatever it is Mom needs for dinner tonight.”

“That’s another thing,” Jill said. “Why send us out on Christmas Eve, looking for ingredients she probably already has, and yet Tank stayed behind with her?”

Jack stared at Jill for a moment before asking, “What’s your point?”

“Do you think Tank is cheating on you?” Jill narrowly avoided being hit in the face by some rouge cheese being launched by Jack.

“First off, eww, I don’t need the visual on that. Secondly, what the hell are you smoking?”

“What,” Jill questioned. “You don’t think it could be possible?”

“With Mom? Not even a chance. Besides, he left his family for me. If that isn’t a declaration of love, then I don’t know what is.” Jill sighed, turning to look at the various meats. “Where the hell did that come from anyway?”

Jill shrugged. “I dunno,” she replied. “It’s just that ever since you two got here he’s been a little jumpy I guess.”

“Jumpy how,” Jack asked.

“I dunno,” Jill repeated. “Like, every time I go to ask him a question or something, it looks like he’s being interrogated. Not to mention he keeps-“Jill suddenly stopped talking and took on a look of deep concentration.

Jack looked questioningly at his sister, worried for a moment, before being distracted by two sets of blond hair. Jack’s brow furrowed as he caught sight of a very familiar young man. Jack decided to ditch Jill and her creep staring contest with the cheese for the moment. It only took a few strides before he stood behind the young man and tapped him on the shoulder. The young man jumped and turned around to face Jack. It took a moment before recognition lit up in amber eyes.

“Jack, is that you,” The young man asked.

“I think I should be asking you that, Owen Plateau,” Jack replied with a grin. Owen laughed before he took the older man’s hand and shook it with vigor. “It’s been a while Owen,” Jack said. “What have you been up to since our last battle?” truthfully, they only ever had one battle, but it stuck in Jack’s mind for whatever reason.

“Not much,” Owen replied. “I did complete in the Kalos league though.”

“Yea I saw that,” Jack replied. “You kicked some serious tail.” Owen simply grinned.

“What about you? Did you ever get that gym opened?”

“Oh yeah,” Jack said proudly. “I run and operate a Gym in the Hoenn region now.”

“Oh?” Owen looked confused for a moment. “So how are you back in Kalos then? Shouldn’t you be taking care of the Pokemon there?”

“I left them with the Pokemon Center back in town,” Jack replied. “They’ll be fine till we get back to Hoenn.”

“Uh, we,” Owen asked.

“Yea, you know, Tank,” Jack replied. “My boyfriend. He studies some of the fossils we find and he’s a backup gym leader in case something happens to me and I can’t take any challengers.”

“Ah, right,” Owen replied. “I don’t remember if you mentioned him before.”

“Me either,” Jack said. “But it was pretty hectic when we first met.”

“Yea, you’re right about that.”  Jack and Owen talked for a bit longer, catching each other up on their lives when Jill had made her appearance.

“Hey Jack I got everything,” Jill said as she approached the two. “Who’s your friend?”

“Oh, right, Jill this is Owen. Owen this is my twin sister, Jill.” Owen looked confused as he shook Jill’s hand.

“We’re Fraternal,” Jill supplied. “Our parents were different races, and our genes just took on different traits from past genes.” Owen made a gesture of understanding. “In any case,” Jill said turning back to Jack, “We need to head back home. I got the stuff mom needs for dinner tonight. It was also nice meeting you Owen.”

“Nice meeting you too,” Owen replied. “Hope you guys have a Merry Christmas.”

“Same to you,” Jack replied as he and Jill made their way towards the front. Jill made the necessary purchases and the twins were on their way back home when Jack remembered something. “By the way, you never did explain what you meant about Tank earlier.”

“Hmm? Oh it was probably just my imagination or something,” Jill replied. What she failed to mention was that she distinctly remembered Tanks hand practically revolving around his pocket.

* * *

 

Once the twins returned home, Natasha set about getting dinner ready, Jill lending her a helping hand, leaving tank and Jack alone in the living room. Jack was firmly snuggled up against his boyfriend, head on Tanks shoulder as they both watched whatever was on the television.

Jack was starting to notice what Jill was talking about when she said Tank was acting weird. He was stiffer, and seemed to be in deep thought about something. Hell, Jack had made so many advances about where the night could lead, but it was as if Tank wasn’t even paying him any mind. The final straw was when Jack had his hand on the older man’s crotch, yet he still had that damn thoughtful look on his face.

“Alright that’s it,” Jack said, standing up and moving into Tank’s view of the television. This seemed to catch his attention and he immediately looked up to see an angry Jack.

“Something wrong,” tank asked, albeit timidly.

“Yea, something is wrong,” Jack replied, making Tank flinch. “You’ve been ignoring me since I got back. Not only that, you’ve been acting weird ever since we got here.” Tank looked down at that. “What is going on? Are you keeping secrets from me again?”

“No,” Tank replied quickly, looking back up. “It’s nothing like that. It’s just-“Tank Paused.

“Just what?” It was then that Tank stood up and brought Jack into a searing kiss that had Jack holding onto Tank for dear life. It wasn’t till after they separated that Jack noticed Tank holding something in his hand.

“There has been something on my mind for a while now,” Tank began as he held up the velvet box before Jack. “I’ve been acting weird because I’m kinda nervous about asking you.” Jack suddenly felt like he couldn’t breathe. “It’s a big decision, for both of us. But, since we’ve been together for so long, I’m pretty confident about the answer.”

With the deft movement of his fingers, Tank opened the box to reveal a plain silver ring. Inside was an engraving: Now and Forever. Jack stared at it as he felt the tears fill his eyes.

“Jack,” the ginger looked up at the sound of his name. “Will you marry me?” There was a tense silence in the room, almost deafening in and of itself. Tanks cherry demeanor was dropping after every second before he was tackled back onto the couch and lips locked onto his own.

Jack poured every emotion he had into that kiss before pulling back and practically yelling, “Yes! Of course I’ll marry you, you idiot!” Tears were streaming down Jacks face as Tank happily place the ring on the gingers finger. Afterwards, Jack once again locked their lips together in a heated make out session.

The happy couple was suddenly brought out of their session when, out of nowhere, a stream of cold water hit them over their heads. Both men let out a yelp and looked around to see Jill with a bucket and a Cheshire like grin.

“Not that I’m not happy for the both of you, but do you think you can keep the more adult activities restricted to the bedroom?” Jack and tank were flushed crimson at Jill’s accusation. The female twin simply had a wry grin. “Besides, I doubt mom would appreciate the sex smell on her couch.” Jack was left to gawk at his sisters retreating back, while Tank hid his ace against the shorter man’s chest.

FIN~


End file.
